White Wedding
by karmuh29
Summary: While living in the caves, Mel lost all hope of ever living a normal life. That is, until Jared asks her the BIG question. Now she is second guessing her decision after her best friends' relationships start to crumble, putting their lives at stake.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All characters in the story, The Host, belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**(A/N: This is my first story so I hope you like it.)**

**Chapter One**

"Aw Jared, they are beautiful," I say as I smelled the daisies, my favorite kind of flower. "Thank you!"

"Only the best for my sweetheart." He wrapped his strong arms around my small waist. As he pulled me in close I got a strong whiff of him and boy did he smell wonderful.

It was our lunch break and we were standing in his room. I held the flowers up to my nose again and my face lit up. I looked into his eyes and we both smiled like little kids.

"I have a surprise for you Mel." Jared looked excited as he said this. He tired to let go of my waist, but I wasn't about to let him go so quickly.

I put my free hand up to his cheek and caressed it. He smiled again. I pulled my hand back and sighed, "Okay I'm good now," I said with a small grin.

He kissed my cheek and let go of my waist. I watched him as he walked over to his bed and picked something black up off of it.

"Here, put on this blindfold, then I will take you to your surprise." He took the three steps back to me.

"Ooo I do love surprises." I pulled my hair back into a ponytail so he could tie the blindfold around my eyes.

After securing the blindfold Jared traced his hand down my arm and gently took my hand. His hand was so much bigger than mine, it made me feel safe. "Are you ready to go babe?"

I loved how attractive his voice sounded when he talked to me.

"Of course," I answered as I grinned and grabbed his hand harder.

He giggled, "Alright, just follow me then, it isn't that far."

Jared started to take a few steps as I replied, "I'll follow you anywhere, any day." As soon as I said this he stopped. I could feel his eyes on me, but I couldn't tell what expression he was wearing. I felt him take a step closer to me and then out of nowhere I felt his lips touch mine.

It was gentle at first, but turned passionate within a few moments. I flew my arms around what I assumed to be his shoulders and felt his hands touch my warm face. I had no idea where we were or who was watching, but I didn't care. All I cared about was never letting Jared go.

Jared suddenly stopped, dropping his hands from my face. I heard him breathe heavily, as though he wanted to keep kissing, but was holding himself back. I kept my arms around his neck, and was probably wearing the stupidest expression on my face, with my lips still open, wanting more.

"What's wrong?" I asked in a small voice, not sure if I had done something he didn't like.

"Nothing's wrong Mel," Jared replied. I could tell he had a huge grin on his face.

"Then why did you stop? I thought it was going fine…" As much I as tried to make my voice sound normal, I could hear the hurt come through.

"It was going better than fine, it was great! Amazing even! It's just that if we keep this up you will never get to see your surprise. Besides, there will be plenty of time for that later."

I didn't know what he meant by that, but I didn't care. As long as I got to be in the same room as him I would be happy, kissing him was just a bonus.

He kissed my forehead. I finally pulled my arms back to my sides and reached around for his hand. I found it and squeezed it tightly.

We started walking again, turning this way and that. I heard voices every once in a while, but could not make out which room we were in. Finally after walking for what seemed like fifteen minutes we stopped.

"Where are we?" I asked, looking around, Jared laughed. "What's so funny? Oh, right." I quickly stopped searching, realizing that no matter which way I looked I would not see anything. The blindfold was still wrapped snugly around my eyes.

He let go of my hand and I felt him reach up to the back of my head, starting to untie the blindfold. It dropped to the floor, as it went down it grazed my leg. I opened my eyes and before me was one of the most beautiful settings I have ever seen. It was like it came straight out of a movie and it took my breath away.

There was rose petals lining a path that lead to a red blanket laid out on the floor. Lining the blanket were multicolored daisies. Throughout the room there were dozens of flickering candles, some short, and some tall. On the edge of the blanket there was a big, brown picnic basket. Next to the picnic basket were three heart shaped pillows.

I gazed around the room, taking it all in. I could even smell the daisies from where I was standing. I turned to look at Jared, who was watching me intently, waiting for me to speak.

"Jared, it's…. gorgeous." I hugged him tightly, and kissed him.

"So you like it? I wasn't sure if you would." He looked so cute when he was nervous.

"Are you insane? How could I not like this? You are the sweetest guy in the world. Jared, I love you."

"I love you too, Mel," He took my hand and brought it up to his full lips, kissing it softly. "And I always will."

After staring into each others eyes for a few moments we walked over to the blanket on the floor and sat down. We were a few feet apart until he scooted closer to my side. He proceeded to put his right arm around my back, grazing his finger along my arm. This sent shivers down my spine and goose bumps appeared on my body. I leaned in closer and rested my head on his shoulders.

"You know, this is the first date we've ever been on," I said as I stared at one of the candles nearest to me. It was a cream color and was dripping wax onto the floor.

"I know. I wish it could have been more romantic though," He continued to run his fingers down my arm. "I hope you like all the candles, Wanda got them during the last raid. She said she had a heck of a time explaining to the cashier what she needed them all for. So now I owe her big time. I told her I would just give Ian tips on how to execute a first date perfectly."

We both giggled. "Oh? And what makes you think this first date is so perfect?" I asked jokingly.

"Well for starters you are here alone with me, so that by itself must make you thrilled."

"You know me too well. I don't know if that would make a perfect first date for Wanda and Ian though. I mean Ian would need to be in the room for that to work, unless you meant that you wanted to be alone with Ian?" I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Now that would be one hot first date," His raised his eyebrows and nodded. "I should ask him what he's doing tomorrow."

"Ha ha. So what's in the basket?"

He didn't answer right away so I turned to look at him. He was still nodding his head while staring at nothing in particular. "Jared?"

"Huh?" Jared said as he turned to look into my eyes.

"You were day dreaming about your first date with Ian tomorrow weren't you? I knew you were gay!" I pretended to be hurt, but couldn't keep the joke going for long. I burst out laughing.

"I was not dreaming about _Ian_, I was dreaming about... _you_. I am just so happy to be here with you." He smiled and leaned in to kiss me.

I leaned back, putting my hand to his mouth. "Nice save," I replied, as I gave him a smile.

I pushed him onto the floor and laid on top of him. I pushed the hair off of his face and stared into his gorgeous eyes.

"I am so lucky to have met you. I can't imagine myself with anyone better."

"We do make a perfect couple don't we?"

"Yes Jared, we do."

I rolled off of him and sat up to take a peak into the basket. Before my hand could lift the lid he grabbed it.

"No peaking sweetie," He said as he kissed me on the forehead. "I don't want you to ruin the surprise."

"Surprise? I thought this was the surprise?" I eyed him, trying to get a read for what was in the basket. He was so good at keeping secrets.

"This was _part_ of the surprise." I looked at the basket and then at him again. I had no idea what was coming. "Now would you please turn around so I can get it out?"

"Get it out? What are you hiding in there a dog?" Now I was really curious.

"No silly, I'm not hiding a _dog_. How would I have gotten a dog? You really think Wanda could manage that one? I mean she would have to come up with a really believable story for that. And you know she is a terrible liar." He laughed at his own speech. "Sorry, I didn't mean to go on a whole spiel about how there is no way Wanda could get a dog."

"Okay, okay. If it's not a dog then what is it?"

"You want me to show you?"

"Jared come on, just open the basket!"

"Are you sure you're ready?" He was torturing me now, and he knew it. He loved to watch how I got angry. Why do guys always say girls are cute when they're angry? I've never understood that. I started to squirm around; I can't keep still when I want something.

"Yes! I'm ready! Now open it please?" I knew I was acting like a little kid on Christmas morning, but I was really curious. I mean it was a pretty big basket, and we never get presents here in the caves.

"Okay turn around."

I did as I was told, turning around. I heard him open the top of the basket and whisper something, but I couldn't make out what he said.

"Alright babe, you can turn around now."

I turned around to see Jared sitting on one of the heart shaped pillows. He was staring at me intently again. I looked down and on his lap was something small and brown. I scooted closer to him and stuck my hand out to touch it. As soon as my hand touched the brown ball I jumped back and screamed.

Jared laughed at me. "Aww Mel, you scared him."

I moved in closer and put my hand back on the brown fur. "A puppy? Oh my gosh Jared you got me a puppy?! It's so cute!"

"Well technically Wanda got him, but it was my idea. So yeah I got you a puppy. Do you like him?" He sounded proud, and who could blame him. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever given me.

"I love him! Can I hold him?"

"Of course you can Mel, he's yours." Jared handed the puppy to me. He was so small he fit on my lap, with lots of room to spare.

"Oh my gosh! Jared he is adorable! Thank you!" I leaned in to kiss him, and he met me half way.

I went back to petting the puppy.

"What should we name him?" I was so excited, I couldn't stop smiling. Jared was definitely the best boyfriend in the world.

"Whatever you want babe." He was looking at me with a huge smile on his face; I could tell he was waiting for something else to happen.

"There's more?"

"Only one small thing, I'm sure you'll find it eventually." He looked down at the puppy that was now up and shifting sides in my lap. His caller jangled.

"You even got him a little bell for his collar? Aw Jared, that is so cute!" I felt my hand under the puppy's chin for the bell. My hand felt something round and hollow. "Wait, this isn't a bell…" I lifted the puppy up so I could see the collar.

My jaw dropped. "Is this a… a ring?" I looked up at Jared who proceeded to get up on one knee.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"Mel, will you marry me?"

I could not believe what was happening. One minute we are standing in Jared's room for our lunch break and the next we are having a romantic date in the game room. And now he is proposing to me.

I could feel my lips trying to answer him, but I was in such shock that no words would come out. I just stared into his eyes for a few moments, catching my breath.

When I was younger I always pictured myself getting married; ever since I was on the run I had lost hope. Now here is the guy of my dreams in front of me down on one knee.

"Yes," I said as I sat down the puppy on one of the pillows. "Yes, Jared I would love to marry you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you." I sounded so excited.

We both stood up and closed the small gap between us. My legs started to shake as Jared slid the beautiful diamond ring onto my finger. It fit perfectly.

"It's beautiful Jared," I said as I touched it with my hand.

"Just like you."

"I can't believe it. I'm getting married! I can't wait to tell everyone!" I started to jump around, and picked up the puppy again. "And you my darling can be my flower girl."

"Uh sorry Mel, but that's a boy puppy. I asked Wanda to get a girl German Shepard, but apparently they were all gone. So we are stuck with this little fella," Jared said, petting the puppy.

"Aww it's okay, he can just be the ring carrier then. Kinda like what he was today," I grinned as I said this. "Oh Jared I am so excited. There is so much to do! I have to decide who my brides maids are going to be, I have to have to get a dress, I have to decide on what foods I want, and somehow we are going to have to get music for the ceremony!" I was talking so fast it Jared laugh.

"Whoa Mel, slow down," He said as he came and hugged me. "There will be plenty of time to plan the wedding. Let's just enjoy the rest of our date."

Jared kissed my forehead. He took the puppy out of my arms and set him gently on one of the pillows. He took the two steps back over to where I was standing.

"May I have this dance?"

"But there isn't any music." I looked confused.

He looked into my eyes and started to sing, "Baby you know that dreams they're for those who sleep."

I was shocked. I had no idea Jared could sing. He had such an amazing voice!

He put his arms around my waist and pulled me in close. I wrapped my arms around his neck and stared into his gorgeous eyes.

"Life is for us to keep, and if I choose the one I'd like to help me through," Jared continued singing while we danced around the room. We moved slowly and carefully as to not step on any of the candles.

It took me a while to realize what song he was singing, but I figured it out at the perfect moment.

I started to sing with him, "I'd like to make it with you."

I didn't have the best singing voice in the world, but he didn't seem to mind one bit. He smiled with me and continued on by himself.

"I really think that we can make it girl."

"I know we can," I replied as we kept slow dancing.

"Me too babe."

"Did you ask her yet?!" A voice from somewhere to our right. It caught us both by surprise.

We stopped dancing and looked to see who owned the voice, it sounded like it belonged to a young boy. Sure enough Jamie walked in the room, followed by Wanda.

"Jared! Sorry, I told him to wait in his room until you guys were finished but he was too impatient," Wanda said out of breath. "I chased him all the way here, but he is very fast."

"It's okay Wanda, thank you for keeping him busy," I replied, dropping my hands from Jared's neck. He still kept his arms around my small waist.

"Weeellllll? Did you ask her?" Jamie said as he rushed over, but he suddenly stopped as he noticed the puppy. "You did! What did she say? Our we going be step-brothers?" He sounded just as excited as me.

I turned to face Jared and whispered, "You wanna tell them or should I?"

"Let's tell them together," He whispered back.

We turned back to look at Jamie and Wanda whose eyes were searching ours for an answer.

"We're getting married!" We shouted at the exact same time, with huge grins on our faces.

"I knew she would say yes!" Jamie exclaimed, running over to us. He ran into me, almost knocking me over, and hugged me. He grip was so tight I could barely breathe. After he let go he looked back at Wanda who was still standing by the door. "Well don't just stand there, come over and join the celebration!"

"Yeah Wanda, we want to share the joy with you too! You are like a sister to me, my best friend." I smiled as she walked over.

"This is so awesome!" Jamie said as he started jumping up and down, almost smashing the puppy.

"Jamie man, be careful!" Jared practically shouted as he picked up the puppy. "You don't want to kill the poor thing on it's first day with it's new mommy."

I laughed as I as giving Wanda a big hug.

"Sorry, geez. Can I hold him?"

"As long as you promise you won't strangle him to death." He laughed and handed the puppy to Jared.

"Congradulations Mel. I'm so happy for you both," Wanda said joyfully as we let go of each other. "When's the big day?"

"We haven't decided yet. All I know is there is going to be so much to do!"

We sat down and watched as the boys were running around with the puppy who randomly got a burst of energy. He looked as though he couldn't be weigh than four pounds and had soft light brown hair.

"He is so cute isn't he? Thank you so much for getting him," I said to Wanda. She just smiled. "So I know it's so soon to ask, but do you think you could help me plan my wedding?"

"Oh Mel I don't know, I've never planned a wedding before. Actually I've never been to a wedding before so I would have no idea what to do. Why don't you ask Sharon or Trudy?

"Aw Wanda, come on, I wouldn't ask if I didn't think you could do it. And get real, Sharon or Trudy? I want a beautiful, romantic wedding. Like this." I pointed to the room with the candles and daises everywhere.

"Geez this little guy has some _sharp_ teeth!" Jaime said as he covered his ankle with his hand.

"Then maybe you should run faster," Jared replied as the puppy was chasing him.

"Oh shut your mouth Jared, just wait until he catches you," Jamie was still crouching on the ground. "Aw man it's bleeding!"

"You okay Jamie?" I got up and started to walk over to were he was. "Let me see it."

"Aw come on Mel, I'm fine. It's just a little scratch. Nothing big," He got up and started to run around again. "And besides, I'm old enough to take care of myself."

"Okay, but you should probably go wash it off. And be more careful."

I sat back down next to Wanda, with my arms around my knees.

"So where were we? Oh yeah, you said you wanted to plan my wedding."

"What? No I didn't! I said I di-"

"I know, I was just joking Wanda! Don't have a heart attack on me," I replied as I started to laugh.

"Oh."

"But in all seriousness I think you would be a fantastic wedding planner."

"Well I guess I could try. Maybe Ian could help out too." Wanda looked at me and then at the boys. "When are you planning on telling the rest of the caves?"

"I hadn't thought about it. I guess I could do it tonight after dinner."

"Whew," Jared sighed as he sat down next to me, puttin his arm on my lower back. It sent shivers up my spine. "That puppy wore me _out_. He looks like he is going to be one heck of an addition to our family." He kissed my cheek. "I'm gonna go get some water. You two want anything?"

"No, we're fine. Thank you hunny." I said, this time kissing him on the cheek.

He got up and walked over to the door, "Jaime, you want anything?"

"Yeah, get me a water, and you should probably get something for this little guy too!"

Jamie ran over to where Jared was standing and fell to the floor. The puppy was right behind him and stopped to chew at his shoes.

"Stop it! These are my favorite shoes!" He screamed as he pushed the puppy away. The puppy walked over to Jamie's hand and laid down. "That's better, little guy. I think he's worn out too!"

"Haha, that's a good thing."

Wanda and I watched while they both pet the puppy. Jared got back up and Jamie followed suit, picking up the puppy along the way. They all left the room to get water.

"Any ideas for what you are going to name him?"

"Not yet. But I need to think of something soon. I hate referring to him as the puppy, you know?"

"Yeah. I'm sure you'll think of something soon."

We sat in silence for about five minutes before the boys returned. Jared came and sat down next to me, puttin both arms around me this time. Wanda took this as her cue to leave as she stood up and exited the room.

"Well this has been one of the best, if not the best, days of my life."

"Same here. Jared I love you."

"I love you too Mel."

He leaned in to kiss me as we laid down. The floor was getting cold, so I scooted closer to him to keep warm.

"Hey guys, sorry to bother you, but I was told to come down here and announce that dinner is ready," Someone said by the door. It sounded like Jeb.

"Alright, thanks Jeb. We'll be there in a minute," Jared said as he stood up, pulling me with him.

We started to walk out of the room as Jared took hold of my hand and squeezed it. I felt the ring on my finger and that's when it hit me. I'm getting married. To Jared, the love of my life.


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N: Thank you to everyone that is reading my story! Don't forget to leave a review (even if all you write is a smiley face hehe). I would greatly appreciate it! =] ) .**

**Chapter Three**

"That's a very pretty ring Mel," Sunny said, setting down her fork. She sighed, "I hope I get married sometime in my life."

"Thanks Sunny, and don't worry, I'm sure you will," I patted the top of her hand.

We were sitting down across from each other at a table in the middle of the room, eating our dinner. The room was still pretty empty, as everyone was still washing up or getting their food.

"I don't know. Kyle just doesn't seem like the type." She sounded disappointed.

"Have you guys talked about it?" I asked as I took a bite of my sandwich. Turkey. My favorite.

"Well no, not exactly. But that's the thing, we don't really talk much anymore. I think he is losing interest in me," She replied. I could tell she was upset, but I wasn't going to let her bring me down.

"Sunny don't say that. I'm sure he just needs a break, he'll come around," I smiled at her. "But I can talk to Jared and see if Kyle has said anything. That is, if you want me to."

"Oh could you? Please?" She put on a big smile and picked up her fork again, shoving a pile of macaroni and cheese into her mouth.

"Of cour-" I started to say as someone started yelling behind me. I turned around to face the noise.

"How could you do this to me? I thought you loved me?" Ian was two inches from Wanda's face, yelling. His fist was shaking. "I'll kill him. I swear I will."

I got up and ran over to where they were standing.

"Ian, please. Don't do this here. You'll make a scene. Please," Wanda whispered as tears started to leak from her eyes.

"You think I give a shit who sees or hears?" Ian screamed.

Wanda started to back up slowly, tears still falling down her cheeks.

"Whoa, Ian calm down. What's going on?" I asked, trying to get him to look at me. He wouldn't take his eyes off Wanda. I slipped in between them, put my arms on his shoulders and pushed him back with all my might.

"Ask _her_," Ian yelled as he pulled away from my grasp, stomping away.

I turned back to face Wanda, who was now crying hysterically. "Wanda, are you okay? Did he hurt you?" I had to make sure she was safe.

She put her hands to her face to wipe the tears away. "No," Wanda whispered through sobs. "He didn't hurt me."

I put my arms around Wanda and hugged her, letting her cry on my shoulder.

I had walked her back to her room and we were now sitting on her bed, the room almost dark.

I waited till I heard no more sobs, "You wanna talk about it?" I asked.

"I.. I... hurt him. Mel I hurt him. I don't even know why I did it. It all happened so fast. I was standing there looking at the puppies and the next thing I know he was kissing me." She talked so fast that I barely understood what she was saying.

"Wait, Wanda what do you mean you kissed him?" I shifted my body sideways, putting my left leg on the bed, while leaving the right one dangling off. "Who did you kiss?"

She started to cry again. I grabbed both of her hands, holding them in mine.

"It's okay Wanda, you can tell me, I won't judge you," I said sympathetically. I was never very good at trying to make people feel better, but I could tell Wanda really needed me to.

"Blue. Water. Lightning." She sniffled between each word.

"...Who?" I was so shocked. Wanda kissed someone other than Ian? But that was so unlike her.

"Blue Water Lightning. He was at the pet shop looking for a puppy too. He asked me my name and what I was looking for. We started talking about why we each wanted a puppy," She paused to look at my reaction. I was just staring at her, with my jaw slightly open. "Then he asked if I would like to go get some coffee with him. I agreed. I don't know what it was about him, but he was... _cute_. So anyway after we got our coffee we went outside and I told him I should get back. That's when he kissed me."

I didn't know what to say. I never in a million years expected this from Wanda. _Wanda_ of all people. If she would do this, then what's to stop Kyle? Or Jared? Or _me_? That's what scared me the most. But I knew I had to act strong, for Wanda's sake.

"Wow," I said. Of course that's all I could come up with, I wanted to smack my head. "Wanda that's... wow."

"Oh Mel, what am I going to do?" Wanda said as she got up and put her hands to her head, scrunching up her hair. "I totally screwed up. Ian will _never_ forgive me for this."

"You don't know that. Ian is a very forgiving person Wanda. You just have to give him time to let him get his anger out."

"He's probably punching a wall out right now. I don't know how I let this happen. We aren't supposed to behave like that. It was so out of character for both of us. We don't have one night stands like you humans do."

"Yes, because we humans are so _flawed,_" I said through clenched teeth.

"Mel, that's not what I meant. Please don't be mad at me! I can't have the two most important people in my life mad at me!" She dropped to the floor and put her face in her hands.

"No, it's fine. I'm not mad. I overreacted. Sorry, Wanda."

"Don't be sorry, I should be the one that's sorry."

"So, if you don't mind me asking, how did Ian find out?" I knew I shouldn't bring it up, but I was curious. Why was he mad _now_? The last raid was a week ago.

"Well, we were just talking an-" Wanda was cut out by none other than Sunny, running in the room, her eyes red.

"Sunny, what's wrong?" I asked. Why is everyone crying _today_? Today of all days. Today should be one of the happiest days of my life. I'm engaged. But here I am, with my two best friends, both of which are crying.

"He.. he dumped me!" Sunny screamed and she fell onto the bed.

"_What_?!" Me and Wanda both said at the same time.

"Kyle... he dumped me!"

Wanda and I looked at each other, both of our eyes were wide open. Why would Kyle break up with Sunny? They were fine yesterday!

Oh my God. What does this mean for me? We were the three perfect couples, meant to be together forever. Now two of the three were going downhill. Wanda cheated on Ian. Kyle broke up with Sunny. Is something going to happen with me and Jared? No, it can't. But that's what I always thought about Wanda and Ian. Is there any hope? How can I possibly get married with all of this? Maybe it's true, nothing lasts forever...

**(A/N: I decided my story was in need of some drama, so let me know what you think =] )**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

I stared down at my ring. It was so beautiful. Maybe too beautiful. No, everything will be fine. It has to be, I don't know how I would survive without Jared.

"Sunny, what happened?" Wanda asked her. She had stopped crying and sat down next to Sunny, putting her arm on her lower back.

"I, I don't know. After Mel left to go see what was wrong with you and Ian, I waited at the table for Kyle. He never came so I went to look for him. He was sitting alone in our room. I went and sat down next to him on the bed, giving him a hug," Sunny stopped talking and looked up. She started to fidget with her hands while she continued, "He pushed me away and got up off the bed. All he said was he couldn't do this anymore and that he wanted to break up." Her nose was bright red from crying.

"Aw Sunny, I'm so sorry," Wanda said, patting her back. "Just give him some time to cool off."

"Then what?" She asked, her face filled with worry. "What if he doesn't want me back?"

"Sunny, guys are stupid. They say things that they don't mean. I'm sure that's just what happened with Kyle," I said as I looked down at my ring again. Please, _please_ let Jared be different.

"I hope you are right. I love him so much," She sighed, resting her head in her hands, turning to look at Wanda. "So is everything okay with you and Ian?"

"Well...not exactly," Wanda said as she looked at the floor. "I did something terrible. I just hope he can forgive me for it."

"What did you do?" Sunny asked curiously.

"Well I-"

"I'll tell you what she did, she cheated on me with some jerk alien!" Ian yelled as he walked into the room. "I hope it was worth it! Because that will be the _last _guy you kiss for a long, _long_ time."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Wanda replied angrily, standing up to face him.

"It means that I'm never letting your diseased lips touch mine again!"

"They aren't diseased! How could you say such hurtful things Ian? I know I hurt you, and I'm terribly sorry. You never gave me a change to explain my side of the story!"

"I don't care about your side of the story! You kissed someone else. End of story." He walked to the other side of the room where he picked up an old shirt and jeans.

"Ian please! I'm begging you to just talk to me for five minutes. Please," Wanda said sorrowfully.

"I'm sorry," she added as she looked down at her feet.

I got up and walked over to Sunny, "Maybe we should leave them alone so they can talk."

"No! Stay! I'm leaving. I don't want to talk to her."

"No Ian, I think you should stay and talk to your girlfriend. Can't you see that she is sorry for what she did? She feels guilty about the whole thing. Just give her a chance to tell you that," I said as I moved in front of the door, blocking his only exit.

I looked at Wanda, who gave me a small smile. I could tell she was grateful to have me around, helping her. I didn't mind, I loved helping my best friend, my sister, my soon to be maid of honor. This brought a smile to my face, and for a second I forgot about all the drama that was occurring in front of me.

"Fine," He turned back around to face Wanda. "You wanna talk? Let's hear it. I'm curious what excuse you could possibly come up with to justify you kissing some loser."

His voice was still loud and angry. I'm sure most of the people in the caves could hear what was going on. I wonder where Jared is. I want to go look for him, but I could see that Wanda didn't feel comfortable being alone with Ian just yet. I took a few steps back, leaving the room and sitting down outside the door. That way if Wanda needed me I would be right there.

(Wanda's Point Of View)

"Ian, I don't have an excuse. I know what I did was wrong, and I hope one day you can forgive me. I don't know what came over me," Wanda looked up, searching his eyes to see what he was feeling.

Anger. Disappointment. Fury.

But most of all I could see that he was....heartbroken.

"Ian..." I reached out slowly, trying to caress his cheek.

He pushed my hand away. "No. Don't. I...I don't even know what to say anymore Wanderer."

Oh no, he used my full name. That can't be good. He looked even more mad than before, if that was even possible.

"I trusted you! Then you go and do _this_. I mean really, what was going through your mind? Was he more attractive than me?"

"No Ian! It's not like that, not at all!" I could not believe he was thinking this.

"Then why?" He put his hands in his pockets. "Is it because you want someone that is...like you? Am I not good enough anymore?" A tear made its way out of his right eye and down his cheek. His voice was quieter, but it still had the same anger in it.

Did he really think I would do that to him? Leave him for someone else? I would _never_ do that to him!

"Ian you are perfect. I only want you, no one else. I don't care that you are human, you are mine. Always and forever. Remember?" I took a step closer, wanting desperately to hold him in my arms.

"If I'm so perfect why would you cheat on me? Seriously Wanderer, I had no idea you were like this! I don't know if I can do this anymore."

No. No, please tell me I am not hearing this! I cannot lose Ian. No, I _will_ not lose Ian.

"But Ian, I love you. I always have and I always will. I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry," I was saying all of this from the bottom of my heart. "Please forgive me."

I really didn't know what made me kiss that strange man. Was it because he was attractive? No, no one is more attractive than Ian. Why did I do it then? Maybe I do need someone like me...

"Look Wanda, I'm sorry too. I'm sorry you felt the need to kiss another man. I can't just accept that though," He couldn't even look me in the eyes as he was talking. "It's going to take some time for me to trust you again, and until then I think we should take a break."

"No!" I shouted and I fell to the floor.

(Mel's Point Of View)

"Wanda?! Wanda are you okay?" I heard Ian yell from inside the room, with panic in his voice.

I quickly got up and ran inside. I saw Wanda laying on the floor, with Ian hovering over her.

"Go get Doc!" Ian called over his shoulder. "And hurry!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"How is she doing Doc?" I asked, worry still noticeable in my voice.

"She's going to be fine," He smiled at me as he put a fresh wash cloth onto Wanda's forehead.

Ian was sitting on the floor next to Wanda's bed, his hand in hers.

"She just fainted, nothing to worry about," Doc said compassionately. "She could come around in a minute or so."

Right as he said this Wanda's eyes opened. She sat up quickly, looking confused.

"What happened?" Wanda asked, looking around at each of us.

It was Doc who spoke first, "It's okay Wanda, everything is fine. You just fainted, but luckily your loved ones were here to take care of you." He smiled. He then continued to ask her a few questions to make sure that nothing more serious was wrong.

I, however, was not smiling. I looked sternly at Ian who had let go of Wanda's hand. I understand that he is angry at her. But she _fainted_. I looked back at Wanda, who still had a confused look on her face. She looked as though she had woken from some scary dream. Unfortunately for her it _wasn't _a dream. It was all real. And reality is way more painful than any dream could possibly be.

I closed my eyes for a moment to take in everything that had happened, taking a few deep breaths. When I opened them I saw Ian walking out of the room. I don't think so buddy. I walked out after him, grabbing his arm just outside the door.

"Let go Mel," Ian said, clearly irritated. "I'm not in the mood."

"Oh and you think I am? I just got engaged a couple of hours ago, and now I am taking care of my best friend who fainted," I knew I shouldn't take it so hard, but I was mad now.

"Then do us both a favor and go spend some time with your new _fiancé_," He spat the last word out, as if this whole thing was my fault.

"You do not just get to walk away from this. It's your fault she fainted, and you're just going to leave her alone in there? Do you have any idea what that will do to her?" I was whispering, but that did not hide the fury in my words.

"My fault? How is this my fault? _She _cheated on _me_!"

"That doesn't mean you have the right to act like a little kid. Instead of working it out you're running away. Grow up Ian," I said, shaking. I leaned against the wall behind me, afraid I was going to fall to my knees if I didn't.

"Why are you taking this so personal Mel? It has nothing to do with you. So just leave me alone. I have the right to do what I want," He started to walk away, his face hot with anger.

I didn't want to let him get away that easy, but I didn't feel like I had the energy to go after him. Why was I taking this so personal? After all, it really isn't my problem. I wasn't the one who kissed another guy, and I sure didn't break up with anyone. Nor did I cause anyone to faint.

"Mel? Is that you?" Jared called from down the hall. "I have been looking everywhere for you!"

He came and kissed me on the lips. I couldn't kiss him back.

"Is everything alright sweetie?" He asked me, leaning down to look into my eyes. When I didn't answer he put his arms on my waist and pulled me into a hug.

"Everything is _not_ fine. I feel like it's all falling apart," I started to cry into his shoulders.

"What do you mean? Everything was great earlier! What happened?" Jared asked as he brushed my hair out of my eyes.

"Wanda and Ian broke up."

"..What does that have to do with you?"

"Sunny and Kyle broke up."

"I...I still don't see the connection."

"Jared if they can't last together why should we?" I cried harder now.

Just as Jared was about to respond as Doc walked out of the room, "Sorry to interrupt, but Wanda is going to but just fine, she's sleeping again. It seems as though she suffered from severe shock. It would be best if she was away from any drama right now. She needs rest."

"Thank you Doc," I managed to say.

Before he walked away he added, "I think the same applies to you my dear."

Yeah, right. How was I supposed to get away from drama when it was surrounding me, pulling me in? I did need some rest though. I felt my eyes drooping.

"Sever shock?" Jared asked, his eyebrows raised.

"She fainted when Ian broke up with her," I said as if it happened every day.

"Mel, I think we should get you to bed. It seems as though it has been a long day for you..."

"You can say that again."

"And you need to get your rest. Besides someone misses you very much, and I'm not talking about me," He winked at me and kissed my cheek. "Would my soon to be wife like to be carried to bed and see her puppy?"

"She would love that."

Jared scooped me into his arms and started to walk us back to our room...

* * *

I heard Wanda from inside her bedroom.

"Hello?" She sounded weak and scared.

"I should go check on her," I kissed him, on his lips this time and added, "I'm sorry."

"Hello?" Wanda asked again, a little louder this time.

"Coming Wanda," I called, just loud enough for her to hear me. "Wait for me?" I asked as he set me back on my feet.

"Of course, take as long as you need. But not too long, I'm getting tired myself."

I walked back into the room and saw Wanda laying on her bed.

"How are you feeling darling?" I asked her.

"Who are you?" She asked, her eyes opening wide. She pulled her knees up to her chest and scooted back against the wall. She looked terrified.

"Wanda, it's just me, Melanie," I smiled at her.

Her eyes filled with fear.

"Melanie. Your best friend?" I said, getting a little freaked out myself. How could she not remember me?

"Who?.." Wanda asked in a small voice.

"You really don't remember me?" I took a few steps closer. Maybe she just couldn't see my face in the darkness?

"No...where am I? What happened?" She looked around the room, trying to find something familiar.

"You fainted, but Doc said you would be alright. Maybe I should go get him. Something isn't right." I sounded worried. Why was this happening?

I turned to walk out of the room...

"You finished Melanie? We're gonna be late!"

"Late? We still have twenty minutes before it starts!" I said excitedly. I could not believe today was the day!

"Hurry up sweetie. I want to have plenty of time to take pictures afterward, and you need daylight for that!" He said, tying his shoes.

"Just a few more minutes. I'm just putting on the final touches. I'm so excited though! Today is the day I get to become Mrs. O'Shea!" I ran over to him, kissing him on the cheek.

"Mr and Mrs. Kyle O'Shea. That does have a nice ring to it doesn't it?" He asked, giggling. He was excited too, I could tell.

"Oh, I forgot my shoes!" I screamed over my shoulder, running back to grab them.

As I ran back I tripped over a box on the floor, landing on the bed....


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

"Good morning sunshine," I heard Jared whisper somewhere from my right.

I shot up. I was in my room, in my bed, laying next to Jared. _Jared_. I looked down at my left hand. _Whew_. It was just the engagement ring Jared got me. I let out a breath of relief.

"Bad dream?" He asked, kissing my forehead.

"You have no idea," I replied as I looked around the room. "I was getting married."

"Yeah I can see how that is such a horrible, gruesome dream," Jared said, sticking his tongue out at me.

"No. I wasn't getting married to you silly. I was getting married to..._Kyle_," I shook my head and made a face like I just ate something sour.

"Ha ha! Really? Now that is one bad dream," He got up and stretched his arms. He wasn't wearing a shirt so I got a nice, clear view of his sexy body. Just what I needed to see to help me forget about my terrible night.

"But that's not all," I say, suddenly remembering what else happened. "Wanda didn't know who I was. It was so freaky. It was like she didn't know even who she was..."

"Mel it was just a dream. Doc said she was going to be just fine."

"Yeah...so where's my puppy?" I squeaked like a little girl. I had so much on my mind yesterday that I totally forgot about the poor little guy.

"He's right here," He picked him up off a little bed on the floor. "He missed you yesterday. Told you she would be back." He kissed his head and set him on our bed.

"Aww, hey sweetie. Well aren't you just the cutest thing?" I had my high pitched voice on, but I didn't care, I was excited.

He came and laid on my lap, barely taking up any room.

"We really need to pick out a name for you. Why don't you see if your daddy has any ideas?"

"Oh no. Am I going to have to hear that voice every time you talk to him?" Jared said jokingly, joining us back on the bed.

"Yes. Yes you are," I replied, adding in my squeaky voice, "Isn't he snookums?"

I continued petting him. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. "Well you're just out like a light aren't you? Aren't you?" I tickled his belly.

"What about Buster?"

"Buster? Really? That's the best you can do? Come on Jared. Does he _look_ like a Buster to you?"

"What does a Buster even look like?" He leaned on his elbows.

"Just come up with something better!" I screamed.

"Okay. Okay. Sorry. No need to throw a fit," Jared pet the puppy. "Mommy is a little stressed out, don't you think?"

"I am not," I eyed him, but secretly I knew this was true.

"Okay, what about Kellan?"

"Kellan? Kellan...Kell-an," I tested it out. "I like it! What do you think? You wanna be called Kellan?"

The puppy barked.

"I think he likes it too!" Jared said excitedly.

"Awww. Kellan. Our baby Kellan. What an adorable name, Jared!"

"Heh. Thanks, I try." I pushed him playfully. "Well I think that's enough play time for now. Let's get ready for the day."

Jared sat on the floor to do his morning sit ups. "One, two, three, four." He loves working out to keep his six pack.

"Yeah, I suppose your right," I said, kissing Kellan one last time. I got out of bed and grabbed some clean clothes. "I'm gonna go get dressed. I'll be back in a minute kay? Remember to watch him, and give him some food too. He looks hungry."

"Nine, ten, alright babe, twelve," His breath got heavier with each count, "thirteen, fourteen."

I started to walk to the washroom, whistling to myself along the way, adding a little hip shake every few steps. I was almost there when I heard Jeb talking to someone.

"Not anyone?" Jeb asked? He sounded shocked.

"Nope." A deep voice answered.

"What about Jamie? Ian?"

"Not even Ian."

Now normally I would just walk right on by, Jeb usually had boring conversations. But this one, this one sounded everything except boring.

"Well Doc," Jeb said slowly. _Doc? _Now I had to know what they were talking about. "What can we do?"

I tiptoed closer to the door, positioning myself out of site, but so that I could still hear.

"That's the thing. There really isn't anything you can do. I mean we can expose her to everything she loved or liked doing. That is about all that can or will help," I heard sorrow in his voice.

"So it's all just gone? Wiped clean?" Jeb sounded concerned.

"I'm afraid so."

What was going on? What were they talking about? Something got wiped clean? But what would that have to do with Jamie and Ian? And why was Doc sad, it's not like he is a maid or something...

"Hunny! Hunny she's crying again and I can't get her to stop!" Sharon came running down the hall.

I saw her and pretended to have just reached the door, coming from the other direction. She didn't even bother to look at me, she just ran straight into the room.

Sharon was out of breath when she said, "She's doing it again. Isn't there something you can give her to remember again? Geez it's like having a two year old or something."

"Can you just go watch her for a little bit longer. Please? I will be in there in a minute." He touched her arm. "Thank you."

I peeped around the open door. "What's going on?" I asked with an innocent voice, as though I didn't hear the first part of their conversation.

"Mel. I'm glad you are awake," Doc came over and put his hand on my shoulder. _Oh no.._

"Is Wanda okay? Is she hurt? Oh I knew I shouldn't have left her alone last night!" Tears wanted to come out like a waterfall, but I stayed strong and kept them in.

"Mel, she's...not hurt. But there is something we need to discuss. Would you have a seat?" He gestured to the bed. Oh, so this is what the inside of Doc and Sharon's room looks like.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, my legs shaking.

"You were with Wanda yesterday when she...fainted. Correct?" He was talking to me as if I was his daughter. It was meant to help soothe me, but it only made me more nervous.

"Yes.."

"Could you explain to us what happened?"

I folded my arms across my chest. "Well I was just talking to her about something that happened on the last raid. Then Ian came in the room, angry about something. He started yelling and I guess he scared her because she fainted." They didn't need to know the whole story.

"What was he yelling about?" Jeb asked, taking a step closer to me.

"Is that really important? What's going on?" I asked again, changing the subject. I was still mad at Ian, but I wasn't going to go around gossiping.

"Well no, I suppose it's not. But Mel, Wanda isn't...herself today," Doc sighed. I could tell something didn't go as planned.

"I thought you said she was going to be just fine!" I was upset now. If they weren't going to tell me what was wrong I was going to find out for myself. I got up off the bed and left the room, starting to jog once I was in the hallway. No one tried to stop me so I ran faster.

I reached Wanda's room in about 2 minutes flat. I am in pretty good shape so the run did not ware me out. I walked into the room to see Wanda sitting in the corner, Sharon kneeling down a few feet away.

"Oh look Wanda, it's Mel. She came to say 'hi'," Sharon said with a huge, probably fake, smile on her face.

"Hey Wanda. How are you feeling? Doc and Jeb sounded like something was wrong?" I said, taking a few steps closer. I stopped when I saw her eyes.

They were red and puffy as though she had been crying for hours. But that's not what got my attention.

Wanda's eyes were wide.

Wide with _fear_.

**(A/N: I hope you guys are liking the story as much as I like writing it! =).**

**(Oh and I hope I didn't confuse you too much with Mel's dream hehe.)  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

"But how did this happen?" I asked Doc.

We were now back in his office, standing in the doorway. Wanda was asleep on one of the cots.

"I'm not entirely sure. Normally when a person faints they wake up and everything is fine. The only way I know someone can lose their memory is from hitting their head _really_ hard. That doesn't seem to be the case here," Doc was scratching his head.

"Will it ever come back?" My voice was unsure.

"To be honest, I don't know..." Doc said as he walked over to Wanda was to check on her.

I thought about it for a few seconds before asking, "Does Ian know what happened?"

"I haven't seen him all morning. I'm not sure if anyone has," He walked back over to me. "Maybe you should go look for him."

I started to chew my fingernails. I knew it was a bad habit, but I always did it when I was nervous. "Yeah. Well, will you let me know when she wakes up? Maybe it will wear off..?" I knew this was unlikely, but I had to have some hope.

"Of course Mel." Doc smiled at me.

He leaned in to hug me. It was awkward at first, but he was just trying to be friendly. I left right after that, determined to find Ian.

I searched the his room and was on my way to the game room when I noticed Kyle sitting by himself in the hallway.

"Hey Kyle..." I slowly started to walk closer to him.

"Hey," He said, looking up at me. "I heard about Wanda. Sorry." He had actual compassion in his voice.

"Thanks," I gave him a small smile and remembered Sunny. "How's everything with you?"

"Umm well it could be better, could be worse." He shrugged.

"Have you talked to Sunny lately?" I sat down next to him.

Kyle looked pale and tired. He was still in his clothes from the day before. He must not have slept at all last night.

He sighed, "No. She can't even look at me without crying anymore. I really screwed up, didn't I? I shouldn't of broken up with her. Especially with the whole thing with Wanda. It's just too much for her. And now everyone knows that I broke her heart, so I guess I really am the bad guy."

It was weird sitting here with Kyle, almost having a...heart to heart. I've never really seen this side of him before. It made him seem more human, like he actually cared what people thought about him.

"I just felt like it was the right thing to do. When she heard that Howe proposed to you she came running to me and basically screamed it. I could tell she wanted the same thing, _soon_. I don't know. I don't think I'm ready for that. I was ready with...Jodi, but now that I know she isn't coming back I don't know if I can pretend anymore. She's a great girl, but she's not for me."

He was staring at the floor, shaking his head slightly. I could not believe what he was telling me. I was shocked, but delighted at the same time. I was glad he trusted me enough to confide what he feeling.

Kyle turned to look at me. I looked back at him. It was one of those moments where you stared into another persons eyes, knowing it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. We didn't say anything for a few minutes and suddenly he put his arm around my shoulder.

"Thank you Mel," He kissed my cheek. "I really appreciate you listening to what I have to say. No one else does that. They all just think I'm some idiot."

"Kyle, you are far from an idiot." I scooted a little closer to him, resting my head on his shoulder.

"But are you really are just going to end things with Sunny because you don't want to marry her?" I asked curiously, trying not to sound mean.

"I don't know anymore Mel. Is that wrong to do? I would feel like I'm just pretending if I get back with her now.." Kyle said, stretching his legs out.

"I see what you mean. Maybe you should just talk to her about it."

"Or maybe you could talk to her about it?" He asked shyly.

"What are you doing with _my _boyfriend?!"

We both looked up to see Sunny walking down the hall. Kyle instantly pulled his arm back to his side, standing up.

"Sunny it was nothing, she was just helping me with something." Kyle said softly.

"Helping you with what? More ways to break my heart?" She screamed in a hoarse voice. She must have been crying most of the night too.

"Sunny, we were just talking. I'm sorry if you got the wrong idea. It was nothing though, I promise. I would never do that to you or Jared." I got up too, straightening my shirt.

"Then why did my boyfriend have his arm around you?" Sunny yelled, putting her arms on her hips.

"He isn't _your_ boyfriend anymore. And that's something friends do," I raised my voice at her. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"Girls, girls, calm down now. No need to get angry over a big misunderstanding," Kyle said, trying to alleviate the situation. We both ignored him.

"He is too my boyfriend!" Sunny screamed, basically right in my face.

"No he isn't you delusional _bitch_."

As soon as the words came out of my mouth I knew I had gone too far.

I felt something hit my face and quickly realized it was Sunny's hand. She slapped me. _Sunny slapped me_.

I instinctively shoved her away from my body, reaching my arm up to punch her.

Kyle grabbed my arm, holding me back.

"Whoa girls, seriously! There is no reason for violence here," He said calmly. How could he be calm in a situation like this? And who is he to tell us that violence isn't right? He gets in fights all the time.

"You are _so_ lucky your _ex_-boyfriend is here to hold me back," I said through gritted teeth.

"Oh really? Because I think I could take you." Sunny replied, acting smug.

"Stop it! Before you do something else you will both regret." His voice was dominant. "Can I get a little help down here?" He yelled in no direction in particular.

Jared came running down the hall. He skidded to a halt when he saw our positioning and expressions.

"What's going on?" He looked bewildered.

"Mel and Sunny got in a fight." Kyle replied, still holding his grip on my body. Sunny was standing with her arms crossed, staring at me.

"You mean a...fist fight?" Jared asked suspiciously.

"Yep." Kyle sighed again. He sounded frustrated

Jared looked speechless.

"Can you let go of me already? I still have to go find Ian." I was so angry that I had to just get away.

"I'll take her," Jared said, coming to get me from Kyle.

"I don't need you to babysit me." I shook his arms off of me and stomped away.

After getting a few feet down the hallway I heard sobs and looked back to see Sunny staring at Kyle, waiting for an explanation. Kyle was just staring at his feet, so Sunny turned and walked away, leaving him all by himself. I stood there for a second, with Jared right next to me, and watched as he lifted his hand to his face. He was wiping away tears; I had never seen Kyle cry before. I wanted to go back and comfort him, but Jared pulled me away, dragging me back to our room.

**(A/N: Don't forget review, I would really like to hear how I could improve my story =).**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

I arrived back in our room in a couple of minutes, still being dragged by Jared.

"Will you let go already?" I pleaded.

"Oh, sorry," Jared replied, letting go of my arm. "What got in to you back there Mel? It's like you were a different person."

"I was just sitting there talking to Kyle, and Sunny comes up to us and gives me attitude. So I called her a bitch and she slapped me," I told the story as if it didn't hurt me, but deep down it did. I was shocked Sunny would do such a thing. And to think I wanted her to be one of my bridesmaids! That will have to change.

"Honey, is there anything you want to tell me? You seem to be acting very strange lately..."

I looked down at the there something I wanted to tell him? "No, Jared, everything is fine," I said, putting a smile on my face.

"Good. But if there is let me know, okay? I just want you to be well." He stepped over and kissed me on the lips. It felt like we hadn't done that in forever. I didn't realize how much I missed it.

"Kellan!" I screamed, happily. I spotted him laying on the mattress and ran over to him. "Aw sweetie I missed you! I know it was only about an hour since I last saw you, but boy has it been a long morning! Mommy already got in a fight! Can you believe it?" I used my baby voice, petting him with both hands.

I heard Jared sigh from behind me. I turned around to see him staring at us, with sorrow in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's...nothing." He scratched his head.

Oh God. I don't know how much more of this I can take. First Wanda and Ian break up, and Kyle breaks up with Sunny. Then Wanda lost her memory and Kyle spills his guts out to me, causing Sunny to slap me and Ian is no where to be found. Now Jared has a problem. What do I look like, Maury?

"Jared is everything okay with you? I know I have been off in another land these past few days, but you have to understand, a lot has happened. All in a short amount of time too. People keep coming to me with their problems and it's starting to drive me nuts." It felt good to get this all out of my system.

"I'm just excited about our wedding...that's all," Jared said, smiling. I could tell he was using a fake smile, like the one I used earlier.

I went over to hug him, trying to at least make him feel a little better. As I put my arms around him I saw Ian walk by our door.

"Ian?" I asked. "Jared, I'll be right back. I need to talk to Ian." I gave him a kiss and left the room, running after Ian.

I caught up with him as soon as we reached the storage room.

"Ian, where have you been?" I asked bitterly.

"Mel, leave me alone. I still am not in the mood to talk," Ian replied, he sounded depressed.

"Did you hear about Wanda? She lost her memory!"

"Yeah, I heard."

"Ian, I don't think you did. _She lost her memory!_" I basically screamed this at him.

"Mel, fuck off. I heard you the first time, and I don't need you to stand here and scream at me. Don't you think I realize what this means? I've lost her. She will _never _be the same. And if you think I forgave myself for what happened then you are dead wrong. I will never forget what I said to her the moment she fainted. I wish I could take it back. But the fact of the matter is I can't. I have to live with that for the rest of my life," Ian said, his fury was pushing through his words, but he stayed completely calm. He whispered the next part so I wasn't sure if I heard him correctly.

"Did you just say 'the rest of your _short_ life'?" I asked slowly. "Ian what are you planning on doing?" I was worried now.

"Nothing Mel. God, can't you just give a guy some space?" He finally turned around to show me his face. He was beyond pale and looked very sick.

"Have you been eating?" I was nervous to ask, not wanting him to start yelling at me.

"Nope." He said as if I was asking a stupid question.

"Ian!"

"What? What do you want from me Melanie? I ruined Wanda's life. I can't stand living with that knowledge!" He was getting furious now, I could tell. He looked like he could punch a wall.

"Ian she wouldn't want this. If she knew what was going on she would tell you that you were acting like an idiot," I tried to comfort him, but I had no idea how to. We were never that close.

"Yeah, well she doesn't know what's going on. So I guess you will just have to fill in for her," Ian said, sarcastically.

"This isn't funny, Ian."

"Will you stop saying my name? Just go back to your _fiancé_ or something." He spat the word out again. Why did he keep doing that?

"Oh my god. You're jealous. You're actually _jealous _about our wedding," I was in awe. I always thought Wanda and Ian had the perfect relationship. Not the other way around...

"Yep. You caught me, I'm jealous. So go have the time of your life at your wedding with your jackass of a husband. I'll be sure to send you your wedding present from my new home in hell."

I couldn't tell if he was joking about this or not, but I wasn't going to take any chances. I had to tell someone that Ian wasn't healthy and was planning on doing something crazy. I just hoped I could do something before it was too late.

I ran out of the room and down the halls, running until I found someone. The first person I ran into, was of course, Jeb. He was the last person I wanted to see right now. I knew he would have me explain the whole story if I told him what Ian had said. I had to find someone else, anyone else.

The next person I ran into was Doc, he looked like he was coming back from the washroom.

"Doc! Doc, I need your help!"

"What is is Mel?"

"It's Ian. I think he is planning on doing something stupid."

"What do you mean?"

"I went to go talk to him about Wanda and he looked really bad, like he hasn't eaten in a while or gotten any sleep. He said something like he would only have to deal with it all for a short amount of time."

"A short amount of time? Does that mean he is thinking about...killing himself?"

"....I think so."

"_Someone is planning on killing themselves_?" It was Jamie who spoke, he was standing a few feet away wearing a shocked look on his face.

"Jamie, go back to work. This does not concern you," Doc told him sternly.

"If someone wants to hurt themselves then it does concern me. Who is it?" Jamie asked with panic in his voice. "It's not Wanda right?" His eyes got wide.

"No, Jamie, it's not Wanda. Just go back to work and we will take care of it," I said, walking over to pat his shoulder.

"Who is it then?"

"...Ian," I looked at Doc as I answered Jamie's question. He shook his head as if to say that was a bad idea.

"No!" Jamie shouted. "I have to go tell Wanda!"

"Jamie no! Listen to me, you are not to tell anyone about this. Is that understood?" I was using my motherly voice, letting him know that I meant what I said.

"But-"

"No 'buts' Jamie."

"Bu-"

"No!" I yelled. I meant what I said, and I knew he would realize that sooner or later. All he wanted to do was help, but having everyone in the caves panic was not a good idea. Ian needed help, and fast.

"Doc, we should go get Ian." I started to walk back to the storage room, with Doc right on my heels. I looked back to where Jamie was standing, he was no longer there. _Good, he went back to work._

It was only a two minute walk back to the storage room. I was nervous the whole time. What if something happens to him? Would it be my fault? How would we move past this? What if Wanda wakes up and remembers him? I don't know how I could break the news to her. I have to make sure he survives this, for Wanda's sake. I owe her that much, if not so much more.

When we found Ian he was sitting in the corner with his hands covering his face.

"Ian, it's Doc. Why don't you come with me so we can talk?" He voice sounded soothing.

"There's..no....time..it's.......done." He dropped his hands to his lap, exposing his face, which was pale white with a bluish tin. He eyes looked heavy, like he hadn't slept in days. His breathing seemed abnormally slow.

"Doc, I think something is wrong. He doesn't look so good."

Just as I said that Ian turned to his side and threw up on the floor.

"Call for help, we need to get him to my office immediately!" Doc shouted to me over his shoulder. I had never seen Doc even remotely like this. It sounded as though he was in a state of hysteria. It terrified me.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

"Jared! Kyle! Anyone! We need help in here!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, hoping they would hurry. I rushed over to where Doc was kneeling over Ian, careful not to get in his way.

Jared, Kyle, Aaron and Jeb all ran into the room at the same time. Their breathing was hard, and Jeb had to kneel down on the floor to catch his breath.

"What's going on?" Kyle asked, noticing Ian in the corner. "Oh my God, what happened?!"

"No time to explain, help me carry him to my office. We need to hurry." Doc said nervously. I wondered if he knew what was wrong or not.

Working together the five guys were able to lift Ian off the floor easily and gently. Kyle was holding Ian's head up, and I noticed a single tear fall down his cheek. He wiped it away quickly, probably thinking no one would notice, and went back to holding Ian up. As soon as they had a good hold of him they all started off towards Doc's office. They were walking as fast as they could while being careful not to hit anything or trip. When they finally made it to Doc's office they carefully set Ian down on one of the cots.

"Jared washcloth, Aaron bottle of water. Kyle in that box over there in the corner there is a Tupperware labeled Charcoal. Get a piece out of there and smash it up into little pieces, when Aaron brings the water I want you to mix it in there. Jeb I'm gonna need some towels, you might want to bring a lot." Doc gave orders to everyone in a calm, but meaningful tone. "Ian. Ian can you hear me? You need to wake up Ian." He didn't move.

"Hurry up guys!" Doc yelled.

"Here's the washcloth," Jared said, handing it to Doc. He placed it on Ian's forehead.

"Where's that water?!"

"Right here Doc." Aaron gave the bottle to Kyle who dropped the pieces of charcoal into the water.

"What is this even for?" Kyle asked. He looked grossed out.

"To pump his stomach. I'm not sure what he did exactly, but I can only assume he overdosed on something."

"Overdosed?" Me and Kyle asked at the same time. Both of our jaws dropped. "But he's going to be okay though, right Doc?" Kyle added. I saw another tear fall down his cheek.

Doc didn't answer. He was too busy getting Ian in a sitting position. Ian's eyes slowly opened a fraction of the way. After he was sitting Doc forced him to drink the water containing the charcoal. Ian gagged on the first sip.

"Ian you have to drink this. Just don't think about it. Assuming you even have a brain to think with at this point..." Doc kept his hold on the bottle to Ian's lips. It took him about three minutes to drink about half of the glass.

I looked over at Kyle, who was standing right next to Ian's cot. His eyes looked sad, like he was expecting the worst to happen. It broke my heart to see that look on a person's face, something I never thought I would see in these caves. Especially from Kyle. I then turned to Jared who was wearing the same expression, but not quite as dramatic. I assumed this was because Ian was not his family. Sure they were like brothers now, but they would never share the bond that Ian and Kyle have.

"So what is this stuff supposed to do exactly?" Kyle asked, unsure of himself.

"It shou-" But Doc was caught off guard by Ian throwing up on the sheets in front of him. It was black liquid. The sight of it made me want to get sick too, so I quickly turned away. "It should do exactly that." Doc finished his sentence, the corners of his lips starting to turn up.

Even though I was looking the opposite direction I still heard Ian spit up a little bit more. I put my hand to my mouth. I felt someone approaching me and turned to see Jared, who put his arm around me. I leaned in to him, and closed my eyes for a second. No matter where I was, or what was happening around me, I always felt safe in his arms. I felt like everything was perfect, but then I opened my eyes and saw where I was.

"Good. Good. Get it all out of your system. You will feel better in no time. Aaron, I think we are going to need some more water."

I turned around to look at Ian. There was black liquid all over the cot and his body, some even leaking on to the floor.

"I'll go get some," I offered. I wanted to stay and be with Ian and the rest of the group, but I could not take the smell any longer. I left the room and took a deep breath. I didn't run into anyone along the way, until I reached the eating area.

"Mel! Is he okay?" Jamie ran up to me, practically screaming. I looked past him to see a lot of staring faces.

"You told everyone? After I specifically told you _not_ to?" I said in a stern voice.

"I heard about Ian, he didn't do anything stupid, right?" Trudy asked as she walked up to me with a half peeled potato in her hands.

"Well...Is that Wanda?" I squinted my eyes to see if I was just seeing things. No, that was definitely Wanda, but "what was she doing out in the eating area? I thought she was scared of everyone?"

"She came out all on her own about 15 minutes ago. She was looking for Jason." Trudy answered my question, sounded sympathetic.

"Who is Jason?"

"I don't know. She claimed it was her mate. I wanted to talk to Doc about it, but that's when I heard he was busy dealing with Ian."

Ian. "I'm sorry, I was supposed to be getting some more water for him. I'll talk to Doc about it later," I said quickly. I walked over to an ice chest, grabbed three waters out of it and ran back to Doc's office.

"Mel! Wait for me please!" I was almost to his office when I was stopped by Sunny, who dragged me into her room.

"What do you want?" I said in a mean tone. I didn't want to be rude, but she _did_ slap me.

"I'm sorry for what I did, okay?" Sunny said. She sounded sarcastic to me.

"Yeah whatever."

"Can we just talk for a minute?

"I'm a little busy right now. Go find someone else to bother." I walked away after that, not bothering to see her reaction, but stopped once I was a few feet from her room. I'm not going to make that mistake twice. Last time I left someone alone when they were angry and upset they overdosed on something. I returned to her room to find her sitting on her bed.

"Okay, what's wrong?" I asked, showing no emotion.

"You don't really like Kyle do you?..."

"No Sunny! Of course not. I'm in love with Jared." That's what this was about? She thinks I would break up with Jared for...Kyle? Now that's just crazy.

"I just wanted to know the truth. I mean if he wants to break up with me, I guess I can live with that. But if he were to start liking someone else in the caves? That I would not be okay with. Everyone thinks of me as this sweet innocent girl, but I do have a dark side thats starting to show."

"Yeah, I noticed."

"So I just wanted to make sure you didn't like him. But anyway, sorry to bother you." She got up off the bed and left me in the room by myself.

Everyone was really starting to frustrate me now. Why does everyone always have to talk to me about their problems? Can't they see I have problems of my own to deal with?

When I returned to Doc's office everyone was gone. The cot Ian was just laying on just fifteen minutes earlier was covered in throw up. There was a pile of towels on the floor next to it, along with some more pieces of charcoal. Where did everyone go?

**(A/N: Sorry if I didn't get the whole part about the 'charcoal' right. I have no knowledge about overdosing and stuff so I looked it up online, with a little help from Cherry Tulips =). Don't blame her if it's not right though, she just thought of the sleeping pills. Hehe. Gosh I feel like there is so much drama going on in this story, it's funny how it started out as a romance between Mel and Jared and turned into this. I'm having fun with it though. Don't forget to leave a comment =).**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

"Thanks a lot Sunny," I murmured to myself.

I walked back out the door when I ran into Wanda.

"Wanda!" I was surprised to see her, "Hey, are you felling alright?"

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?" She asked, twirling around. "God, what is this place? It's so _weird_." She sounded different, like she switched personalities or something.

"Maybe I should take you to go see Doc..." I said slowly, reaching out to touch her arm.

She had done something different with herself, style wise. She was wearing a pink skirt. Her blouse looked awfully familiar too. Did she get them from _my_ room?

"Who? I'm looking for Jason. Have you seen him?" She brushed her hair out of her face, pulling it back.

"Who is Jason?" I was confused now. A couple hours ago she was terrified to have anyone come near her, and now she is looking for some mystery person named Jason. What was going on?

"Mel! There you are! We've been looking for you. We had to take Ian to the washroom, he looked disgusting and smelled terrible," Kyle said, coming closer. "Oh hey Wanda. I didn't see you there... I'm sure Ian is going to be fine."

I turned to look at Kyle. He still looked really tired and stressed out. He really needed a shower too. I just stood there as Wanda raised her voice at him.

"What the hell are you talking about? I don't _know_ an Ian." She started to walk away, knocking into Kyle's shoulder on her way. "And for the hundredth time, my name is not Wanda! People here are so stupid."

"What was that?" Kyle asked. He sounded confused. Join the club.

I was just as taken aback as he was. "I have no idea, but we need to tell Doc about it. She's acting different. Really different. Right before you came she was asking me if I'd seen someone named Jason." I leaned against the wall, sliding my right foot up to give myself more support.

"Who's Jason?"

"Exactly."

"Oh, right." Kyle chuckled to himself. He was always a little slow, but that just made him cuter. Not that I have an eye for him, I only look at Jared that way.

"So why aren't you with Ian?" I asked. I knew I was changing the subject, but I really was worried about him.

"Because they were giving him a bath."

"Shouldn't you be helping then? I mean he is your brother."

"That's exactly why I had to leave. I'm not about to give my brother a sponge bath. That's crossing the line." Kyle put his hands in front of him defensively.

We both laughed. "Okay, I guess I see your point. How many people does it take to give someone a bath?"

"Is this really time for jokes Mel?"

I laughed again, "Kyle that wasn't a joke. I was asking if they were all helping. You're so stupid sometimes." I play punched his shoulder.

"I knew that. I was just...testing you. So now that you passed, no they are not all helping," Kyle stuck his tongue out at me, "Doc and Jared are in the storage room, trying to find out what Ian took." All joking in his voice left as he said this. I could see the worry in his eyes.

"He's gonna be fine Kyle." I went over and put my arms around his waist, giving him a hug. He responded by putting his arms around my back, pulling me in closer. We stayed like that for a minute, breathing slowly.

"Are you guys like dating?"

We pulled away from each other to see 'Wanda' standing a few feet away, leaning against the wall.

"No, we are just friends," I said. Shouldn't she know this already?

She stood up to scratch her ankle. "Good. Because I must say, you're pretty hot." She winked at Kyle.

I raised my eyebrows and looked to Kyle for his reaction. He just stared at her, a smile appearing on his face. I hit him in the arm with my hand. "Kyle!"

"What?!" He turned his head in my direction quickly, then turned back to look at 'Wanda'.

She giggled. "So if you're single, we should hang out later." She licked her lips. Oh my God.

Kyle chuckled and looked down at the ground, scratching his forehead. What was this boy thinking?

"So you said earlier that your name isn't Wanda. What is it then?" Kyle asked. He was clearly interested in her.

"Alexandria. But _you_ can call me Allie." Somehow she was making her voice sound, dare I say, seductive. 'Wanda' walked away after this, making sure to give Kyle a good look at her body.

After she was gone I gave Kyle a stern look. "Kyle! What is wrong with you? That's your brother's girlfriend!"

"Um clearly it's not. You saw how she acted. Besides she said her name is _Allie_. Pretty cute name." He was still smiling.

"Okay, that's it. I'm going to find Doc. Something has to be done about Wanda. Apparently whoever was in her body originally is back." Anger found it's way into my voice again. I left Kyle standing there and went to the storage room to find Doc. He was standing in the corner with Jared.

"Hey babe," Jared said, walking over to kiss me.

"Hey," I replied as I kissed him back. "Have you guys found anything?"

He put his arm around my shoulder. "Yeah. An empty bottle of sleeping pills."

"He took a whole _bottle_ of sleeping pills?" My jaw dropped. I didn't want to ask, but how could a person survive that?

"No," Doc replied, getting up to walk over to where we were standing. "The bottle wasn't full to begin with, and there was a whole bunch splattered on the ground. My guess would be that he took 5-10 pills. Couldn't have been more than that or he wouldn't have made it."

"Oh my gosh. How did he even get a hold of them?" I asked. Hearing this caused me to become afraid. Anyone could do this to themselves in here...

"I had them in my office. It's what we used for..Walter.." Doc looked sad as he said this. "But I will start making sure that no one has access to any of this stuff from now on. I don't want something like this happening ever again."

"That's a good idea," Jared said.

"Well I should go check on Ian," Doc said as he started walking to the door, patting Jared on the shoulder on his way out.

"Doc, wait!" He turned around. "There is something wrong with Wanda."

"Yes, Melanie, I know that. She lost her memory," he said dully.

"I know that, but now she is looking for someone named Jason. She says her name is... Alexandria."

"What?!" They both looked at me, undoubtedly confused.

"I think whoever was in her body before is back." I was nervous, saying it out loud made it seem more true. How would this affect everyone? Most importantly how would it affect Ian?

"Are you sure?" Doc asked.

"I'm sure. She was...hitting on Kyle."

Jared raised his eyebrows, he had the same reaction I did when I saw it unfold before my eyes. Doc looked even more surprised.

"Where is she now?"

"I don't know. I left to come find you."

"Okay, I'll go see if I can find her. Then we'll go from there," Doc said as he left the room. I went to follow him when Jared grabbed my hand.

"Can we just talk for a minute? I feel like we haven't since our date yesterday," Jared said. His eyes were somber.

"Aww, is someone feeling neglected?" I joked with him.

"Ha ha very funny. I just miss you, and when I tried to tell you that this morning, you ran off."

"I'm sorry about that. I had to talk to Ian though and it was a good thing I did, or else...but I miss you too babe."

"Yeah I know, Ian was being an idiot. But tonight we need a proper celebration for our engagement." He came over and kissed me passionately while he started to lift my shirt up slowly.

"Jared!"

He dropped it and moved his hands to my face. It is the best feeling in the world, being with him. I wish I could do it all the time. He then shifted and starting kissing my neck and my shoulders, moving my shirt sleeve out of the way. I rolled my head back and put my arms around his body.

"Mel! Jared! Come quick!" Jamie screamed as he ran past the door.

I pushed Jared off of me. "What's wrong?" He asked me.

"Didn't you just hear what Jamie said?"

"Uh no. I was a little occupied with my baby." He smiled that gorgeous smile of his.

This did something to me that I have not felt in a while. I quickly realized it was butterflies. Butterflies. Oh what a wonderful feeling. I would soon get to feel them everyday. He was mine. All _mine_.

"You have no idea what you do to me every time you smile." I said. He picked me up, hugging me.

"Is that a good thing?" Jared asked as he started to swing me in circles. This made me giggle.

"That is a _wonderful_ thing." I leaned down to kiss his forehead. "But we should probably go see what Jamie wants."

He set me back down on my feet. "Oh right, the ever needy Jamie," He said sarcastically.

"Jared!" I said, pushing him as we starting to walk to the kitchen.

**(A/N: Hello everyone =) sorry it took me so long to post the next chapter. I wasn't really sure where to go with the story, but I finally came up with something. Hopefully it isn't too 'out there' for you guys.. hehe. And Happy belated Mother's Day to all of you that are moms =).**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

We held hands the whole way to the kitchen. Just me and Jared, away from all the drama for just a little bit longer. It was nice, until we were in earshot of what was going on.

We caught the last word, "..._fat_!" A female voice said. Her voice was loud and dramatic.

"She wouldn't do that. I know her, and she wouldn't do that," Jamie replied. His voice was raised, but I could tell he was staying calm. I was proud.

I could not tell what they were talking about, but I knew this could not be good. We picked up our pace to get to the voices faster.

"Well I don't care what you say she would or wouldn't do. The fact is that she did it and I want her _gone_. I will not have someone disrespect me like she did."

When we turned the corner I saw Maggie standing with her hands on her hips.

"What's going on?" Jared asked before I could say anything.

"Maggie here says that Wanda called her 'fat'," Jamie replied, agitated. "And I said that she would never do that."

"What do you know? You're just a little kid," Maggie was outraged that someone would even think to disagree with her.

"Don't you talk to him like that," Jared yelled. Wow. I knew he was protective of Jamie, but this was a side of him I hadn't seen in a while.

"Jamie, where is she now?" I asked sweetly, giving Maggie a dirty look.

He stared at Maggie as he spoke, "They all went to the game room. Apparently this isn't the only thing Wanda did."

Great, just great. She had only been 'Allie' for about an hour and already she had done damage. Not just damage that could easily be fixed either. Maggie has the power to influence a lot of people in these caves. When they believe one thing their mind is made up, it can't be changed. I hope she didn't do anything else too bad.

We ran back to the game room. My legs were pretty tired now. I had been doing a lot of running today, from room to room. Every time I turn around someone else needs my help. I needed a break and some food. I hadn't eaten breakfast this morning. I guess I hadn't thought about it because of everything that was happening.

"Since when is it wrong to voice my opinion? So I called her fat. It's true, have you guys seen her? She needs to wear a sign that says 'wide load' or something," Allie was saying as we walked in the room. Everyone was staring at her. "There is seriously something wrong with you people though. Like why am I even here? Are you guys aliens? Because, you know, that would make a lot of sense." She had her hands on her hips, and was tapping her foot.

"You know you are making it _really_ hard to defend you here. Just shut up for five seconds," Kyle said through gritted teeth. He was standing right next to her, and boy was it a funny sight. Kyle is so much taller than her that she basically came up to his shoulder.

"I don't need you to defend me. I can take care of myself. Geez." She might be short, but she definitely had a mouth on her. "So anyway, are we done here? I still have to find Jason."

"Who the hell is Jason?" Kyle asked angrily.

"Why do you fucking care? Are you jealous or something.? All I said was you were hot. Don't take that to mean that I would hook up with you or something," She said, putting her hand up in front of her. I looked at Kyle's face, noticing that he did look jealous. "There _has_ to be cuter guys here. Like him." She turned and pointed to where we were standing.

She talked so fast it took me a minute to figure out what she had just said. I even stared at her finger, letting it sink in. She was pointing at us. No not us, Jared. My Jared. Oh no she didn't.

"He's engaged, so don't even think about it." My eyes were wide. I was starting to not like this new Wanda, or should I say Allie.

"Damn."

"So who is Jason again?" Kyle asked, walking around to stand in front of 'Allie'.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're pathetic?" She was mocking him, I could tell.

He stood there for a minute, probably trying to think of a comeback. He obviously couldn't think of one good enough and 'Allie' was starting to get impatient. She slowly leaned her head from side to side.

"Okay guys that's enough. We need to do something about this," Doc said in a frustrated voice.

I had forgotten that everyone was in the room, but when I looked around everyone had left. They all probably had enough of 'Allie's' antics. I couldn't blame them, she really was a bitch.

"Do something about what?" 'Allie' asked.

"You. Duh." Kyle said. I think he had hoped this would make up for his lack of comeback earlier, but sadly it didn't.

"What about me? It's your guys fault I'm here anyway. I woke up in this place, which means one of you put me here."

She was speaking in a serious tone now, but her body language said different. She went and did a cartwheel on the floor. When she was back on her feet her face was red and her hair was a mess. She did another one. Kyle looked transfixed. Poor Kyle, he didn't know what hit him. Then again poor Allie, she has no idea what she's doing to him.

Doc was standing in the middle of the room, but started to walk towards the door. "Doc?" I asked.

"I need some rest. It's been a long day and I need to go check on Ian. He has been sleeping for a while now. We will fix this in the morning"

"But what about Wanda?" My voice shook. I needed her. I couldn't imagine not having her back.

His reply was, "She's in there somewhere" and he was out the room.

"Glad he's gone. So you guys wanna hear a joke? So three guys were on a trip to Saudi Arabia." We all looked at her in disbelief. Did this really seem like a time for jokes? "Oh come on, lighten up. You guys all look tense."

"Maybe you should give me a massage then."Kyle winked at her. He was probably jumping for joy in his mind, he finally came up with a comeback. Not a very good one, but at least he got one.

"Ha ha. Very funny. Come on guys sit down. Let's have like a slumber party!" She said the last part of this in a high pitched voice. She burst out laughing.

"So about those three guys who went to Saudi Arabia..." Jared said, sitting down by her. I did not want to be left behind so I followed suit.

She giggled and sat up straighter. "So this is a rated R joke. If you aren't mature then maybe you should leave." We all looked at Kyle.

"What?!"

Allie then continued on, "So three guys went on a trip to Saudi Arabia. One day they stumbled into a tent filled with fifty gorgeous women. Being men, they of course started to get...'friendly' with the women. Suddenly the Sheikh came in saying 'I am the master of all of these women. No one else can touch them except for me. You three men will pay for what you have done. You will be punished in a way corresponding to your profession.' He asked what the first guy's profession was. 'I'm a cop' says the first guy. 'Then we will shoot your manly part off.'"

We all laughed at this. Jared put his arm around me and I leaned in to him.

"The Sheikh turned to the second guy and asked what he did for a living. 'I'm a fireman' says the second guy. 'Then we will burn your manly part off.'

"Ouch," Kyle said, squirming. "That had to hurt."

"Continuing on, since I was so rudely interrupted," Allie said, pretending to be irritated. "Finally he asked the last man 'what do you do fr a living?' The third guy answered with a sly grin, 'I'm a lollipop salesman.'"

Jared and I burst out laughing. Kyle just sat there for a second, clearly confused.

"I don- ohhhh! Hahahaha" He joined in the laughter. "Where did you hear that?"

"I got it from some TV show called 'Eli's Dirty Jokes.' Pretty good huh?"

"That was hilarious-"

"Once you got it," She pointed out, smirking.

"Yes _once I got it_. You have any more?" Kyle asked. He looked like he didn't really care about the jokes as much as he did being around her. I knew it was wrong considering her body was still with Ian, but I wasn't going to be the one to tell her that.

I could tell that it really wasn't Wanda in the body anymore, or at least she wasn't the one controlling it. Allie was here to stay, at least for now, until Doc could do something to help Wanda. I just hope she is still alive in there. If anything happens to her I will feel responsible.

Kyle started to laugh again, Allie must have told another joke. I was getting tired and it was getting dark. I wanted to go to bed early tonight. I felt exhausted.

"What's all that noise?" A voice said from outside the room.

We all turned to the door to see who it belonged to.

"Jason!"

**(A/N: Ooohh! I wonder who it could be. Any ideas? =).**


	12. Chapter 12

**(A/N: I just wanted to thank all of you that are reading my story, it's makes me happy knowing that there are people out there who like my writing =). I would especially like to thank those of you that are reviewing, I really appreciate it!!!)**

**(I didn't really get a chance to reread what I wrote for this chapter, so there might be a few typos and whatnot. Please forgive me =).  
**

**Chapter Twelve**

This switched our moods like a light switch. One minute we were all laughing, and the next we all looked confused as Allie got up fast. She was smiling from ear to ear.

"Jason!" Allie screamed like a little girl and ran to the doorway. She jumped onto the figure, wrapping her arms around his waist. This blocked the view of his face, making it impossible to tell who it was.

"Oh my gosh! I missed you so much!" I heard her kiss him.

"I missed you too, Allie," Replied the voice._ Wait a second, I know that voice. It couldn't be him though. Could it? No. Definitely not._

He proceeded to set her down back on her feet, still holding on to her. They had moved away from the light, this made it harder to make out who it was. I looked at Jared Kyle out of the corner of my eye. He was sitting on the floor, his eyes absorbed in the reunion occurring in front of him. It didn't look like he knew who the mystery guy was either, but I couldn't be sure. Jared looked just as confused as me, his face scrunched up.

"I've been looking for you for such a long time! I'm so glad I found you!"

"I've been waiting for you for ever. I never thought you were coming back...but I am so glad you did. You mean the world to me."

I indubitably knew that voice. I wouldn't let myself believe it was him though. After all that has happened how could it make any sense?

"Jason I want you to meet some people that I just met. They are kinda strange, but I like 'em." Allie grabbed hold of his hand and started to walk over to us.

I had my head down and did not look up right away. Instead I fixed my gaze on Kyle, waiting for his reaction. He had his face tilted slightly to the side, perplexed. As Allie's footsteps got louder Kyle's reaction changed to utter shock.

"Guys, this is Jason," Allie said joyfully.

"What the hell?" Kyle asked quietly. He then raised his voice, "What the hell is going on?"

I finally made myself look up at the esoteric male. My jaw dropped. My worst fear had come true. Ian. _Ian_ was Jason. What?

I repeated myself out loud, "What?"

"This is Jason."

"No, we heard that part. We mean how is he Jason? His name is Ian," Kyle said. He, like the rest of us, was not so quick to believe what was happening.

"Just like you thought my name was Wanda?" Allie asked. "I think you guys should get yourselves checked out."

"Ian?" I asked. When he didn't respond I stood up in front of him. "Ian?" I asked again. Still nothing.

"I'm sorry, but I think you are mistaking me for someone else. My name is Jason," He replied in a serene voice.

It was now my turn to look bewildered. How is this even possible? Ian was a human, therefore he had no one in him that could come back. How did he now have a different personality? This didn't make "any sense. Unless this was all a big joke. It wasn't April was it?

"Okay hold on. Let me get this straight. You," he pointed to Allie, "were Wanda until you fainted because Ian broke up with you. You then woke up as someone named Allie, whom you are claiming to be right now. And you," he pointed to Ian, "overdosed on sleeping pills, causing you to have to take charcoal which made you throw up a lot. Then you feel asleep and now you woke up and think you're someone named Jason. That is just too damn confusing. I mean how is that even possible?" He yelled.

"Kyle calm down for a second. There has to be a reasonable explanation for this," Jared said. That is just like him to try and assess the situation before jumping to any conclusions. Or that's how he's been recently anyway.

"I seriously don't know what is wrong with you. I've always been Allie and he has always been Jason. So whoever told you those stories was lying."

I didn't know how to respond to this. I just stood there with my arms crossed. Jared was right, there had to be a logical explanation for all of this. We would just have to dig to find out what it was. Could they just be having hallucinations? That was a possibility. Or what if they ate something that was bad? No, because then the rest of us would be feeling weird. This was really making my head hurt. It was late and I needed to get some rest.

Allie yawned. "Let's go lay down Jason. I'm exhausted." She stretched her arms into the air, bringing them back down to grab Jason. He smiled and then started to make his way out of the room. We all watched them go. Where were they going to sleep? All the rooms were full and we didn't have any extra mattresses. I was about to point this out when I heard a yawn from behind me. It was Kyle.

"Well. That just sucks. I mean I find her first, but of course she goes for Ian. Or Jason, Or whatever their names are now. You guys are still Jared and Mel though, right?" He had a hint of nervousness in his voice. I hadn't even thought about that. If it could happen to both Wanda and Ian, what are the chances it could happen to one of us?

"Right." We both responded. I could feel my eyes getting heavy again.

"Babe, let's go get some sleep. I can barely keep my eyes open," Jared said. It's like he had read my mind.

I didn't have to strength to reply so I just nodded and turned to walk towards the hall. It felt weird in the caves tonight. Almost like there was a presence that wasn't supposed to be there. I just shook the thought out of my head and kept walking.

As soon as we got to our room I plopped down on the bed, not even bothering to take off my dirty clothes. Jared laid down next to me, with Kellan cuddling between us. I kept petting his soft fur as I closed my eyes, slowly drifting to sleep.

I slept soundlessly that night, dreaming about a waterfall. I was in the water with Jared, splashing around, with Kellan on the rock next to us. I was wearing my blue two piece, while Jared was in his green swimming trunks. We were laughing as we took turns swimming under the waterfall, peeking through on the other side. I had one of those cameras that could get wet and was taking pictures of everything. I snapped a shot of Jared when he was on the other side of the waterfall, then took one of Kellan on the rock. He was barking at something in the trees. I looked up to see a bird, and quickly to a shot of it. I continued to do this until all the film was gone. I set the camera on a rock and ducked under water.

When I came back up I was in a different place. It was extremely hot and I had sweat dripping down my face. "Come on babe! We are almost to the top!" I heard a voice yell. I looked up to see Jared climbing the mountain in front of me. I looked back down. We had to have been walking for hours for I could see no sign of civilization. My backpack was weighing me down, it must have been holding lots of water. I recognized this place, it was Arizona. Tuscon to be exact. It was the desert we were living in now. We must be on the mountain where our caves are located. I felt different though, younger, and I knew that me and Jared did not make this trip together. I kept walking though, determined to catch Jared.

We reached the top about ten minutes later. It took us longer than normal because of the heat and the fact that our legs were tired from our long journey here. "Whoa! Look at this!" I walked over to where he was standing. There was a giant hole in the ground. "How far do you think it goes?" I asked him. "I don't know, but let's find out." He picked up a big rock and dropped it in the hole. We listened carefully, waiting to see if we could hear it hit the bottom. We were able to hear a small thud. It was very faint, but it was so quiet out that we were able to hear it. "That's gotta be thirty, forty feet. Maybe even more!" He sounded so excited about it, like he had waited all his life to see something like this. He took a step closer. "Be careful J." He smiled and took my hand, pulling me closer. We stood there for a second, staring into this big hole of unknown. I felt my foot start to slip, I was losing my balance. I gripped harder onto Jared's hand, but he was slipping too. I felt myself falling, but could do nothing to stop it."Jared!" I heard myself yell. I couldn't tell where he was though. I knew I was going to hit the ground hard. I did not know what was the best way to land to soften the impact. I only had about ten seconds to think and the only thing I focused on was Jared's face.

I landed with a huge thud. I felt my body tense up and instantly felt pain all over. I heard another thud somewhere to my right. "Jared." I thought. I couldn't find my voice and was too scared to open my eyes. My view then switched. I was no longer in my body, but up above. I quickly realized that I had not been in my body; I was seeing it through someone else's perspective. I looked over at the male. It hadn't been Jared all along. I did not recognize who the couple was, but I was glad to see that it wasn't me. The bodies, however, looked terrible. I tried to focus on something else, but all I could see were the struggling bodies in front of me. I wanted so badly to help them, but there was nothing I could do. The male had reached over to take the girl's hand. She had to be no older than eighteen. "I love you A," He whispered. "I love you too J," She whispered back. Their eyes closed shortly after.

I awoke right after that, gasping for air. I could not believe what I had just witnessed. I knew it had been a dream, but it felt so _real_. I felt my stomach do a flip flop. Seeing those lifeless bodies made me feel sick. I put my hand over my mouth and ran to the wash room. I sat on the floor for a few minutes before washing my hands and returning to my room.

I still felt the same eeriness as I walked through the caves. Why would I have a dream about two people that fell down a hole? What is the significance of that? It wasn't me that it happened to, obviously. I don't even know anyone who had died on a hiking trip. I replayed the last part in my head, when the two said "I love you" to each other. They had used their names. No not their names, their initials. One was 'A' and the other was 'J.' I don't know any couples that have those letters to start their names. What could it possibly mean? A and J. J and A. I came to a halt. A and J. Allie and Jason. Could it be them? My heart started to pound. I wasted no time as I ran back to my room.

"Jared! Jared! Wake up!" I screamed as I shook his body.

He grumbled something that I could not make out. Finally he turned over and looked at my face. When he saw me he sat up quickly. I must have looked how I felt.

"Jared, do you believe in ghosts?" I asked in all seriousness.


	13. Chapter 13

**(A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it has taken me forever to post the next chapter, I've been pretty busy and have had a lot going on. I hope everyone is still interested in reading this, enjoy! =)**

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Melanie, what is going on?" Jared asked in a nervous voice.

"Ju-just answer the question."

He put his hands on my cheeks, forcing me to look into his eyes. He sighed, "Melanie...I think you need some sleep. You aren't making any sense. I think you're extremely tired."

I sat down on the bed, still keeping my focus on Jared. Kellan came and by nestled my leg. I reached a hand out to pet him.

"I'm not tired. I slept for a long time and I had this dream-"

"What dream?" He asked as soon as I mentioned it.

"Well if you would let me finish...I had this dream about a boy and a girl that were hiking up a mountain. In Arizona. They fell into a hole at the top and...and died.." I looked down at the ground as I said these words out loud. I felt pain in my stomach for the couple; they were so in love. The same way that me and Jared are. I noticed the ring on my hand and smiled faintly.

"Honey, it was just a dream. No one really died." He said, trying to reassure me.

"No. It wasn't just a dream. Jared, I think a couple really did die here. In these caves. I know I sound crazy right now but just hear me out. The couple, when they...died. They-they said their names were 'A' and 'J.'" I started to talk faster and faster. I felt as though I couldn't get the words out quickly enough. "Doesn't it seem weird to you that I would have a dream like that when Wanda now claims to be someone named Allie and Ian claims to be someone named Jason?" I didn't look at Jared the whole time I spoke, but when I did look up I immediately regretted it.

Jared's face looked solemn. Like he just found out his fiancé was insane. I wasn't insane though and I was going to prove it.

He sighed again and started to shake his head. "So what you are trying to tell me is that you believe that this...this couple has taken over Wanda and Ian's bodies? Do you even hear yourself right now?"

It was my turn to sigh now. What did I really expect from him? Did I honestly think he would believe what I was saying? Would _I_ even believe someone if they told me this? Probably not.

"It was just a bad dream, Mel. Maybe you should try and get some more sleep." He smiled and leaned in to give me a kiss on the cheek.

"So you don't believe in ghosts then?" I asked quietly, still petting Kellan. He was asleep on my lap now.

He reached his hand out to cover mine. "Sweetie, I believe that something weird is happening with Wanda and Ian. But I don't believe that you should try to be Nancy Drew and figure this thing out... Okay?"

My heart sank; I knew I was right. I never have strange dreams like that. How was I going to tell the rest of the group though? Would anyone believe me? I had to try. I didn't know what proving this would do, though. How do you go about getting ghosts out of a body? Is there even a way to do it? I would do anything to save Wanda. Ian too.

"Okay," I replied with a fake smile.

Jared leaned in to kiss my lips this time. I felt a rush of adrenaline cover me. I pulled him closer, being careful not to squish Kellan, who was still laying on my lap. Apparently I did not do such a good job as I heard a small yelp and felt him get up to move. I continued to kiss Jared passionately as I peered at Kellan from the corner of my eye. He looked like he knew what was happening and was happy to be out of the way.

I felt Jared run his hands up my stomach, towards my neck. He started to remove my sweater, while moving his lips down my chin. I rolled my head back and used my hands to push his body closer to mine. I felt him trying to pull my shirt over my head and let I go for a split second. It was enough time for him to get it off and I moved on to pulling his shirt off. He didn't waste any time, instead of pulling it over his head, he ripped it off. I raised my eyebrows, thoroughly impressed. I felt him chuckle.

We continued to kiss for quite a while before moving on to more intimate matters. I was still a little upset that he had not believed me about my dream, but who could really blame him? I was just happy to be in his arms. This wasn't the first time that me and him had been together like this, but it still felt just as special. I was glad that neither of us were growing old with each other and hoped it would be that way forever.

After we were done making love we laid down next to each other in bed, our arms wrapped around each other. I could feel his heart beating and heard his breathing finally become steady.

"I love you Jared."

"I love you too, Melanie."

We laid there for about twenty more minutes before hearing footsteps outside. It must have been time for breakfast. We both got up to put clean clothes on. It took me a little bit longer than it did Jared, but I told him I didn't mind him getting a head start on eating. After he left I sat on the bed with my hands covering my face. Maybe I was just crazy. Who could have dreams about the past? I've heard of people telling the future, but the past?

"Hey!" A friendly voice said from right outside my door. I looked up to see Allie leaning against the wall.

"Hi," I replied in a hushed tone. I wasn't in the mood for visitors, but I suddenly realized this was my golden opportunity and quickly added, "Have you ever been hiking?"

She looked slightly taken aback. "What a random question...but yes, I used to go all the time with Jason. I remember this one time, when we first started dating, he took me on a trip to this place called Rainbow Basin. Sounds really cool right? Well it isn't. I ended up spraining my ankle after only fifteen minutes. Talk about embarrassing. I thought he was going to break up with me right then because I wasn't adventurous enough for him."

I found myself being intrigued by her story. I felt like we were best friends and were sharing our past over a campfire on a starry night. It was weird, but it felt _nice_.

"Did he?" I asked, really interested.

"No." She started to laugh. "He didn't. He ended up taking me out to Sizzler's."

I laughed too. "What a cute story."

She smiled and walked over to sit down next to me. "Thanks. So what made you ask me that?"

I looked at her, flashing a smile back. "Just wondering."

So she used to go hiking with Jason, just like in my dream. Was it just a coincidence? I had to question her more to find out. What else was in my dream though? Something about a waterfall! And she was taking pictures! Maybe she wanted to be a photographer?

"So...what did you want to do with your life? I mean before you ended up here." My voice was a little shaky because I was so nervous. I wanted to be right about everything, but what would it really prove?

She started to pet Kellan while she answered, "Well to be honest I wanted to do everything. Most of all I wanted to travel around the world. I wanted to see all the beautiful places that our world has to offer. Then I wanted to make a scrapbook of all the plane tickets and pictures I would take. Kind of like a diary, but I wanted to sell it. It would be like my life story. Cool huh?"

My heart skipped a beat. It all made sense. She wanted to travel, which explained why she at a waterfall...with a camera. She wanted to document the whole experience. There was no way this could all just be a coincidence, it seemed to fit too perfectly. If only I could remember what the girl had looked like. She couldn't look like Wanda's body and Jason couldn't have looked like Ian. I was so focused on their mangled bodies I didn't even seem to notice their faces. Why do I always seem to miss the important things?

"That _is_ cool. I would have loved to see something like that. Traveling the world seems like fun too."

She sounded excited, "You have no idea. We had already started traveling, me and Jason. We were making our way through all 50 states before we went to a different country. We made it to Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and were going through Arizona when I ended up here."

My eyes opened wide. So the last place she remembered going was Arizona? Is that because that was where she would meet her fate?

"Arizona, huh? What were you doing while you were in Arizona?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Hiking, of course. Jason had heard about these killer mountains so he wanted to go see them for himself."

'Killer' mountains - no kidding. "And that's the last thing you remember?" I asked, even more nervous than before.

"Yep. Pretty strange," Allie replied. She stood up and straightened her shorts. "Well I just wanted to stop by and say hi and sorry that I was such a bitch yesterday. You seem alright though." She smiled and play punched my shoulder.

I returned the friendly smile, "Yeah, you do too."

She walked out of the room after giving Kellan a soft kiss on the head and saying bye. I was left there even more confused than before. So this Allie liked to take pictures and wanted to travel the world. The last thing she remembers doing is hiking up a mountain in Arizona. Now Jared and everyone else might say that it's just a coincidence, but I know it isn't. I just need proof.

**(A/N: So to be honest I have no idea where I am going with this whole 'ghost' thing. I hope it all works itself out and I'm not just digging myself a hole here. Hehe. If I am, it's a fun hole to be in. Jump in and let me know what you think. =)**


	14. Chapter 14

**White Wedding – Chapter Fourteen**

"One second!" I heard a voice yell from the inside the room.

"Hey Jeb."

He opened the door and gestured for me to enter. "Well hello there Melanie. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

I took a quick look around his room before responding. It was so much bigger than everyone else's. I guess this would make sense, considering he was the one to find this place so many people call their home now. His room didn't feel like a home to me, however. It felt more like just a place to sleep, perhaps like a hotel room would feel. It felt almost empty, despite all his belongings spread out everywhere. Almost as if he had not expected to stay here for that long and never took the time to make his house into a home. I immediately felt bad about this. I somehow felt responsible for never taking the time to get to really know him. After all, we are family.

"I just came by to see if you wanted to talk."

"Talk hmm?

"Yeah, we are family, right? We haven't really spent any time together since I got here. I just wanted to change that."

Okay, so maybe this was a stretch. We are family, but that wasn't the reason I was here to talk to him. I was a little nervous that he would be able to tell this from my body language, but if he did he didn't say it out loud.

"Well what would you like to talk about?" He motioned me to take a seat on the bed. I took him up on his offer and sat down. In my head I was hoping I wouldn't have to stay here for that long. Just long enough to get what I needed.

"Oh, I don't know," I said innocently. "I never got to hear the whole story about how you found this place."

A smile appeared on his lips. "Well," he looked at me and put his hand on my knee, "that is one incredible story."

And so I sat there for over an hour listening to Jeb's "incredible story," which as it turns out, is pretty incredible. I nodded and agreed in all of the right places, only adding comments when I felt they were needed. Overall I let Jeb to do all of the talking; he didn't seem to mind. If nothing else I learned that once you get him talking about something he loves, there is no stopping him.

"And that is how I came to find this fascinating place," he looked around and patted my knee a few times.

"Wow."

"I know, I am one lucky guy for that."

"So," I said, finally able to ask the question I had been waiting all day for, "was anything here when you showed up? I mean like any signs of anyone else living here or anything?" I felt my heart beat quicken.

"Nope, no signs of anyone living here."

Now it could have been my imagination, but I could have sworn he put an emphasis on "living." Do I press the issue or will he get suspicious? I decided to press my luck.

"Hard to imagine you would be the only person to ever come here. I would have thought someone would have come out here before and, oh I don't know, left a beer bottle or something?"

He turned to look me straight in the eye. I could tell something was off when I said this. His body language changed dramatically. He had been sitting loosely and clam, but now he stiffened up. Was he hiding something?

We continued to stare into each others eyes for about twenty more seconds before he blinked and turned away. "Well now that you mention it, I did find a camera in the main room."

"Do you still have it?" I questioned, a little too quickly.

"Yeah, I think so. I put it in a box over here," Jeb said. He got up off the bed and grabbed a box by the wall. He brought it back and set it next to me. I peeked into it and saw what looked to me like a bunch of junk. Must have been his past possessions that he considered important.

"Mel?"

Jeb and I both looked up to see Kyle standing in the doorway. I turned my head slightly as if to question what was wrong.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked.

"Um, I'm kind of in the middle of something, Kyle. Can we talk later?" I didn't want him to get in the way of me and the piece of evidence I needed. I had to see this camera for myself and find out what was on it. It might have nothing, but it could be exactly what I need.

"It's about Sunny." He sounded weary. He put his hands up on his head and sighed.

I rolled my eyes, but was careful to not let him notice. "Go ahead, Melanie. We've talked enough for one day. There is always tomorrow." Jeb did the shoo shoo movement with his hand. When I didn't stand up he practically pushed me off the bed. I caught my balance and walked out of the room, looking over my shoulder one last time to memorize which box the camera was in.

We walked back to his room before he said a word.

"Is everything okay?"

He looked up to the ceiling and then back at me. "I've been thinking.... a lot lately."

"About what?"

Kyle put his hands in his pockets. "About everything. Like how is it possible that Wanda and Ian have completely different personalities now, but Sunny can't find Jodi?"

"Kyle, there is still hope for that. She's trying and she won't give up. She wants to help you."

"I know she is still trying, but it's been too long. She won't find her. I've accepted that now."

"Then what is this about?"

I was annoyed that Kyle would ruin my opportunity for proof to tell me that he had accepted that Jodi wasn't coming back. We were friends, but was this really necessary? He could have waited till I was done with Jeb to tell me, but no, that is not how Kyle is.

"I'm worried that Sunny won't be able to cope with us not being together. Like Ian did with Wanda."

"You think she will hurt herself?" I ask incredulously. I did not think she would be capable of such a thing.

"No. I think she might just leave." I could tell he was genuinely worried about Sunny. He still loved her, he was just not _in_ love with her.

"Hey, Kyle. Oh, hey babe, didn't know you were in here. Sorry to interrupt." Jared walked over to give me a kiss on the cheek.

"'Sup Jared," Kyle said.

"Just came to ask if you had seen Mel, but I guess I found her." He let out a small chuckle and put his hand around my waist. I rested my right hand on his.

Kyle leaned against the wall and slid down so he was sitting. His knees were in front of him and he rested his head in his hands. He looked too stressed, I wished there was something I could do to help him. If I could just get his mind off of Sunny and Jodi maybe he could be happy, even if just for a little while.

"Kyle do you believe in ghosts?" I shot out without thinking. Apparently I had caught both Kyle and Jared off guard because they both turned to look at me with confused expressions.

"Oh, not this again." Jared said.

I took his hand off of my waist. "Jared, if we are going to get married you are going to have to start trusting me more."

"Babe I do trust you. I just think you are way out of line with this whole ghost thing."

I was thankful that Kyle asked, "What ghost thing?" so I did not have to continue my argument with Jared. I love him, but when we didn't agree on something there was no getting around it. That makes me a little nervous for when we start to plan our wedding. We haven't talked about any of it because of all the drama that has been happening around here. Knowing him he will want something more romantic while I would go for something more casual. Don't get me wrong, I love to get dolled up every once in a while, but my dream wedding was not like most girls I knew. I had to push these thoughts to the back of my mind. Hopefully we can get past all the drama soon so we can move on with our lives. I need my bridesmaids happy and normal, but that is seeming to be a difficult task.

I went on to explain to Kyle what happened in my dream. Unlike when Jeb tells a story, I don't go on and on about all of the little details. I only told the parts that were important. When I finished with my ghost theory about how Wanda is A, and Ian is J, I stopped to let it all soak in for Kyle and for Jared as well. Maybe hearing it a second time would somehow make it more real for him.

"Still seems like a lot of bullshit to me, no offense hon." Of course I would be mistaken. I always hated how someone says something offensive, but then adds 'no offense' at the end. Like that takes all of the offensive parts out of it. I didn't let him know that it bothered me, however.

"I don't know, Jared. She has a point. I mean, one day they are fine and then the next they are completely different? Seems pretty odd to me as well."

"And that's not all." I said, holding my finger up for dramatic effect. They both nodded for me to continue. I went on to explain why I went to talk to Jeb and how I was forced to listen to his long story for an hour, which led me to the camera.

Kyle raised a hand to smack his head slightly, "I thought it was weird that you were talking to Jeb. No wonder you didn't want to talk to me, he has the camera!"

I put my hands on my hips. "Exactly." I raised my eyebrows at Jared who didn't look any more convinced.

I will just have to show him the camera when I get it and then he will be forced to believe me. It hurt that Jared would still not take my side, but at least I had Kyle. He was proving to be one of the best friends I ever had. In the past few days he had really opened up to me and I now felt that I could open up to him. If he could believe my theory about ghosts surely he would believe anything else I had to say without thinking I was crazy. Unlike my fiancée.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go get that camera!" Kyle said, jumping to his feet.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

We walked in silence to Jeb's room. It was the ideal time to search for the box with the camera because it was dinner time and everyone was in the cafeteria. Kyle was the first to go inside, just opening the door and bursting in. I, however, was a little hesitant at the door. After all, this was only my second time actually going inside. It was a lot weirder without Jeb there.

"So where did he say it was?" Kyle asked, already searching around the room.

"In a box full of junk."

"Well that really narrows it down." I laughed. Kyle was right, there were boxes of stuff all over. More so than there had been when I was in here earlier. "I mean look at this stuff. Where did it all come from?" He held up an old clock that looked like it had the Sesame Street characters on it.

We continued our search for what felt like a long time. I looked up to see Jared standing by the door. "You could help, you know."

"I'm keeping watch. It shouldn't be long before dinner is over."

"Yeah, but we need all the help we can-"

"Is this it?" Kyle yelled from across the room. He had his face in a box with his hand lifted above his head. I saw a black thing in his hand and dropped what I was holding to run over to him. I grabbed the mysterious black object out of his hand and examined it.

"Behold! The evidence I need to prove I am _right_." I smiled excitedly and started to do a victory dance.

"Not so fast," Jared said as he took the camera out of my right hand, interrupting my dance. I sighed and put my hands on my hips. "You don't know what's _on_ the camera. For all you know it's just pictures of kittens or something."

"Well it better not be naked pictures of me or something. I mean I know I'm sexy and all, but that would just be too weird." Jared and I just looked at Kyle with confused expressions on our faces then just turned back to each other. His comment did not deserve a response.

I took the camera back. "Well it's a digital camera so we can just look at them." I pushed a button to turn it on. Nothing happened. "It needs new batteries."

"Or maybe you are just pushing the wrong button," Jared said. I tried to keep the camera in my hands, but failed as Jared grabbed it back. Guys. They think they know everything about technology.

He pushed a button. Nothing. So he pushed another button. Still nothing. He then continued to press every single button on the little camera, starting out softly and then smashing them. Yeah, because that totally helps.

"Needs new batteries," Jared said confidently.

"That's what I _said_." He may be my fiancée, but boy was he really starting to get on my nerves.

"Okay, okay. We've established that it needs new batteries," Kyle broke in. "So where do we find some?" This was the second time in one day that he had saved us from another argument. He was really getting good at it. I needed to remember to thank him for it.

As we were all pondering this we heard voices coming down the hall. We all just looked at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move. As they say in psychology, you are less likely to react when in a group than when you are alone. I guess it's true because we all stood there like idiots until we heard the voices right outside the door.

Jeb.

"What do we do?" Kyle whispered frantically. His eyes were wide, just like mine. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. I turned to Jared who, by the looks of it, was experiencing the same thing I was. Shock. If Jeb was to find us in his room it would be the end.

"The closet!" I whispered. I grabbed both of their hands and turned my body around, looking for it. I quickly realized that we were still in the caves and there were no closets. It was at that point that I realized how stupid you act when scared. Now it makes sense why people do crazy things when in desperate situations.

My heart was pounding. There was nowhere to hide. We would just have to wait for Jeb to come in and try to come up with a good excuse about why we were here. Sure it would be difficult, but there was a slim chance he would buy whatever we tried to sell him. My suffering intensified as I started to hear the conversation outside.

"Look, kid, I'm busy. Why don't you go show someone else?"

"Because everyone else always says the same thing. You're my grandpa and we haven't spent much time together. Can't you just watch me do one trick? I won't ask you for anything again." Jamie? Could that be him? But what could he possibly have to show Jeb? More importantly, why?

"Alright. One trick, but that's it. Then I'm coming back to my room for my alone time."

"Awesome!" Jamie yelled excitedly.

I was so confused at this point. Jamie usually never talked to Jeb by himself, he never had a reason to. So why was he starting now? We stood there for another minute before accepting that the coast was clear.

Kyle was the first to break the silence. "Was that Jamie?"

"That's what I thought," Jared said as he walked over to the door.

This seemed like a good time to ask aloud what I had been asking myself. "But why would Jamie be talking to Jeb?"

They both shrugged. "We can ask him later, right now we should worry about getting out of here before he gets back." We all agreed and made our way back out into the hall. As we had before we walked in silence back to Kyle's room. Once inside with the door closed we all breathed a sigh of relief.

I jumped on the bed and stretched my legs out. "What kind of batteries does that thing take?" I asked.

"Hmm, let me look." Jared twisted the camera in his hands, looking for where the batteries were supposed to be. He opened the side of it and studied the batteries. "Wait a second..." He took one of the batteries out and turned it around. "There, let's try that." He flipped the camera back over and tried pushing a few buttons. "Ta da."

"No way?" Kyle sounded surprised. "Let me see."

"Let's all look together. I don't want someone deleting any of my evidence," I said, getting off the bed.

We all sat down next to each other, myself in the middle with Kyle on my left and Jared on my right. I held the camera out in front so we could all see and pushed the playback button. A picture filled the screen – a waterfall.

"Hey didn't you say that you say something about a waterfall in your dream?" Jared asked.

All I could do was nod. Could it just be a coincidence? I was determined to find out so pressed the arrow key to see the next picture.

**(A/N: Blah. I really don't like this story, but I figured you guys at least deserve an ending. I'll try to finish it soon so I can just get it all over with. Don't forget to click the review button below... OH! There is also a new chapter of 'Never My Love' up so if you haven't done so already you should go check it out. It's heating up! =).**


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